The Son of Rome
by TimesNew
Summary: Percy left home and found paradise. But the legion is divided by whispers of war, and the return of a threat older than Rome. AU where Percy went to Camp Jupiter instead of Camp Half-Blood. This is the first part of what I plan to be a five-part series like the original PJO. Art by StaticColour.
1. Chapter 1

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. You might think I'm crazy for saying that. Being a demi_god_? Why would anyone not want to be one?

Well, a lot of reasons. I knew that. But I didn't fully understand it until today.

It started several weeks – no, it must have been months now. Several months ago, I woke up cold, confused, alone, and surrounded by talking wolves. It was scary, sure, but fear wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. Being a twelve-year-old in New York is hard enough, and when you add ADHD and dyslexia to the mix, you might end up with something like me. I had to face bullies from classmates and teachers alike. I was raised in a system that set me up to fail. Even when I come home to my mom, the only good thing in my life, I had to put up with my stepdad. Being scared and alone wasn't anything new.

Okay, that sounded a lot more arrogant than I thought it would. Let me start over. My name is Percy Jackson. I'm a skinny kid with thin black hair and green eyes. I guess I don't look too different from my mom, but I got my eyes from my dad. That's the only thing Mom would tell me about him in twelve years. Enough about him, though. Like I said, I'm ADHD and dyslexic, so school never felt right to me. I just felt like I should be doing a lot more than book reports and geometry. I tried to join the basketball and baseball teams, and although using up all my energy felt good, it just wasn't rewarding.

I was stuck in a loop of doing bad in school, disappointing my mom, getting frustrated, then doing bad in school again. Sometimes I even wish that my dad would finally show up and save us from our lives. My mom keeps telling me how proud she is of me no matter what, and I believe her, but I know she deserves better than that. Better than me. And a little after I turned twelve that wish came true.

I woke up in the ruins of what I thought was a castle at first. It turned out to just be a really big house, but my mind couldn't comprehend that people could actually live in places as big as this. That was almost harder to believe than the talking wolves. They surrounded me when I first woke up, all slick dark fur with beady eyes. Then they had parted to allow a much bigger wolf approach me. Lupa, she said her name was. She told me everything in her deep and powerful voice. That I was a demigod, that I had been chosen, that I had to learn to fight and live and survive the legacy of Rome.

Sure. Better than pre-algebra.

She pushed me to the limit. I did things I didn't know I could do and tore muscles I didn't know I had. When she was done with me I was strong enough to be a member of the pack. I had to be, because I'm still alive.

Right now, I'm sitting in a bus with my backpack on my lap, squished between strangers. Every bump in the road made me clutch my bag even tigher, and my hands would twitch to the coin in the pocket of my jeans. Over the past few days I was traveling towards my destination, some place called Camp Jupiter. Lupa had told me to 'follow my instincts' and 'embrace my destiny'. She was a bit dramatic that way.

But I couldn't describe the feeling any better. I just knew in my bones that this was the right way even if my brain says otherwise. _A camp? Like a summer camp? It's probably a bunch of cabins with a volleyball court. It's got to be back in the forest near the Wolf House. How could it possibly be in the middle of the city? _It made sense. And yet I knew it wasn't right. The trail of monsters probably helped me decide that.

I tried to keep my head down. Really, I did. But one way or another I would always find some weird nasty trying to kill me. They were always bigger, stronger, and meaner than me, but none of them were taught by wolves, let alone Lupa. I had to use my hard-won wits to beat them. Which meant a lot of running away. It's a lot more heroic than it sounds. But I had to stand and fight more times than I was comfortable with, and that meant busting out the magic sword I kept in my pocket. Lupa had given it to me – she said it's made of 'Imperial gold', that it was meant to be used by the greatest sons and daughters of Rome. I didn't understand why calling gold 'imperial' would make it any better, and I definitely didn't understand how I was 'great', but I learned not to question Lupa. That would only lead to running more laps around the Wolf House.

As far as I knew, I didn't have anything to make me great. Though I always had a nagging feeling, something to do with how I get whenever I go near water… like that one time I tried to join a swimming club and outpaced the instructor, or that one time me and my mom went to the cabin in Long Island. But that can't be right. It can't be. Because if it was, then that would make my dad…

_No. _A couple days ago I went to a public library to get on a computer and Google some stuff about the Roman gods. I found out that out of all of them, Neptune was the most feared and hated - except for maybe Pluto. After a life of being rejected by everyone I knew, this was my one chance of fitting in. I didn't want to be a loner again. Sadly, I also found out that every monster within a five-mile radius immediately knows where I am whenever I use the internet, so I could never find out more about the Roman gods by myself. The only reason I made it out of that library alive was my coin and very inventive use of a rolling chair.

I snapped back to reality when I saw my stop. I got out of the bus and stepped out into the middle of nowhere. Well, not exactly. But it sure felt like it. The bus stop was on top of a small hill, and I was the only person around. I was surrounded by beautiful golden hilltops and flatlands further in the distance where the suburbs of San Francisco sprawled. Far away, I could see the Golden Gate Bridge, and on the opposite side, I could see a mountain with its peak hiding behind a cloud. I wasn't sure where I was. But something just felt right. I had followed my instincts like Lupa taught me, and I would know I was right because I would always find –

I heard a snort behind me. The only thing I heard for a few moments after that was my heart beating in my chest. Then I plucked up the courage to turn around.

It was tall, muscled, and really, _really_ smelly. Like, worse than my stepdad smelly. It was naked except for a loincloth, though that wasn't what I was looking at. Its nose was covered in reddish snot, and its eyes were dull black and fixed on me. But my eyes kept drifting to the top of its head, where two cruelly twisted horns sprouted out like the stunted plants from one of my failed science experiments. I guess it looked pretty normal until you moved past its neck and onto its bull's head. I wondered why I didn't notice it before. _The Mist, _I realized. It must have affected me, and the mortals even more. It was the magic that covered up our world from everyone else, Lupa had told me. People saw what they want to see, and it's never the truth. Even now the thing's head would sometimes look like a misshapen human head with a cowboy hat. And I figured that if someone saw the man-bull for what it was, it could probably go on all fours and moo and no one would look twice.

That made me choke out a laugh. Apparently cows took offense to that, because it roared and charged at me. My battle instincts kicked in, so of course I turned and ran. Look, I promise I'm a demigod, alright?

My first thought was to think back to what I knew about bulls. Well if I'm being completely honest my first thought was _Oh my gods, please don't kill me, I'm sorry I had a cheeseburger this morning! _My _second _thought was racking my brain about bulls. Even when I was sprinting up and down hills with a monster at my tail I could think up a few things. First, beef is delicious. Second, cows don't like the color red. Not a lot to go on, but I was under a lot of pressure. Then I remembered that some people would go in an arena with bulls and wave red flags in front of their faces. I forgot what they were called – mats? Doors? Whatever they were called, they always dodged by moving to the side just before they got hit. I hoped that would help me, because I began to feel the thing's breath on my neck, like my pre-algebra teacher. That didn't help me calm down.

I dodged to my right before I knew what I was doing. Sure enough, there was a surprised grunt and I risked a look back. Now that I was closer I could see that it was a lot less human than I thought. It had fur on its chest and arms, but even under all that I could see veins rippling below its bulging muscles. It looked off-balanced for a minute, until it shook its head and barreled at me again.

_I can't outrun him, _I realized with a jolt. Even now I was starting to get tired and the man-bull was just warming up. The sharp turns were hurting my ankles, and the thing was starting to get used to my tricks. That left two options. I could overpower it or outsmart it. That first option was crazy, even for me, so I had to use my brain instead. Maybe if I went to the city and ducked into an alley – no, that would just endanger more people. I couldn't do that. Maybe_…_

My instincts told me that the camp was close. Very close. I needed to buy some time, get on a hill, and look at my surroundings. Right now, the only thing I could see were my feet pounding the soil, and a big shadow getting bigger and bigger. Well then. I decided to do what I do best and did something stupid.

I dodged again, but instead of sprinting I turned around, took off my shoe, and threw it at him. The monster was more surprised than hurt – which made sense, since it flew well over his head. I was no good at archery, so I guess that wasn't shocking. But it did its job. It was distracted long enough for me to reach into my pocket. I pulled out a small golden coin – it was the size of a half-dollar, but solid gold and with weird drawings on it. It had the head of some guy I didn't recognize on one side, and the letters IVLIVS on the other. I didn't know what that meant, but I did know that if I flipped it, it would turn into a Roman gladius: a few feet of sharp monster killer.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, grabbed the sword in midair, and jammed it to the thing's leg. It screamed even louder than me, then reached down to grab me with its meaty hands. I pulled out the gladius just in time and rolled backwards. Golden fluid, what had to be the thing's blood, poured from the wound. Normally monsters would just _poof_ into dust after a solid hit with my sword, but this guy was something else. Still, it fell to its knees when it tried to charge me again, which gave me a few seconds to run up the nearest hill and look around.

I only had a glance. It was enough. I could see huge columns in the middle of the field, then saw that they were holding up a highway above me, where it disappeared into a big hill. To my left were more hills, which began to turn to asphalt streets, while to my right I could reach the suburbs with just a few more minutes of running. But up ahead…

It looked like an old tunnel, built into the side of the big hill. Maybe for maintenance? I wasn't sure what I was looking at, but something just screamed to me, _home. _The only time I felt that way was when I'm in my tiny apartment, alone with my mom, talking about the rare happy moment in school while eating nachos and her legendary seven-layer dip. It felt right. It felt safe.

That was all the encouragement I needed. I ran through the grass and dirt faster than I thought was possible. I could feel stitches at my side and cramps down my legs, but the smell of monster kept me running. Eventually I could see an entrance in the tunnel, a set of enormous iron doors, and two people who looked like they were wearing armor. They were also holding spears and carrying shields, which reassured me, though they couldn't have been much older than me. But when a charging bull monster was on your butt, you'd take your chances.

"Help!" I screamed. My voice was strained and hoarse – gods, I wish I had drunk before I stepped off the bus. The guards noticed me and looked as scared as I felt. I could see them yelling to each before one of them opened the doors and the other readied his spear. As I got closer I could see his blue eyes and waxy skin underneath his helm. He looked terrified, but he leveled his spear.

"Halt in the name of Rome! Who are – "His voice was shrill, and I might have laughed if my voice was any better.

"Later! Help now!"

He ground his teeth and surged forward. I couldn't believe my eyes. He actually moved to attack.

"_Senatus Populusque Romanus!"_ he shouted. Okay, I thought. Why not.

"Get in!" yelled the other kid. She looked like a girl – it was hard to tell underneath the helmet. That sounded like a great idea to me, and I ducked inside. It was dark inside the tunnel, but I could see a light in the distance. I followed it before turning to the girl.

"What's- "And I realized it wasn't her. Instead, the first guard was running beside me. He had a nasty gash on his shoulder and was breathing heavily, but otherwise looked alright. "Keep going! Gwen is keeping it busy!"

I didn't know what he was talking about, but 'going', I understood. I huffed and reached the end of the tunnel. I thought I had died.

At the other end was a valley, small as far as valleys went, but there was a city in the distance. It looked like heaven, or what I thought heaven would look like: pristine white walls, beautiful arches, and solid buildings surrounded by freestanding columns. It was a couple hundred feet away, and in between us there was a river that ran through. Again, I could feel that tugging feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I forced myself to think about something else. I turned around and my heart leapt to my throat.

I was so taken by the sight I didn't notice the male guard had switched places with the girl again. Only this time, she looked terrible. Her helmet was missing, revealing a mass of reddish-brown hair that stuck to her head with what looked like blood. She was using her broken spear as a crutch and limping as fast as possible towards me. The other guard was yelling at the monster, trying to get its attention by going for the occasional jab with his own spear, but I knew that it could snap the spear or the guard with equal ease. I had to help.

I heard shouting and bells ringing. In the distance, a group of people were running towards us, but it would be a few minutes before they arrived, minutes that we didn't have, and that was _if_ they didn't have to cross the river…

_The river. _

"Hey! He needs your help! Hey!" I heard the female guard, Gwen, calling out to me, but I swallowed my guilt and ran to the river. _You told yourself you'd never use this power, _I thought. _You said you'd reject your father. _I hated that I had to do it, but I hated myself more for not thinking about the guards sooner. If I had stood and fought, if we surrounded the monster three on one, then maybe…

No. This was not the time to regret. Right now, they need me. I heard a pained shout behind me before I stepped into the river and turned around to face the monster. The female guard, Gwen, had fallen to the ground. The other kid lost his spear and was weathering blows with a shield that looked like a saucer compared to the monster's fists. He was the only thing standing between Gwen and the monster. I felt the anger and guilt burst inside me like a geyser. They were taking those hits for me. They were taking that pain for me. I wouldn't stand for that. I screamed, and I felt the water rushing to meet me. I charged the monster, and the river came with me.

I wasn't sure how I did it. I just poured all my emotions into a single thought: _Fight. _I pulled out the coin and flipped it into a sword. When I was halfway there I jumped and felt the water propelling me like a rocket. I was launched several feet into the air straight at the monster. Time slowed down as I gripped the sword with both hands and held it above my head like I was bringing down a hammer. I saw the monster looking at me with surprise and fear. I could see the guard staring at me, wide-eyed. I could feel the wind blowing at my face and the water giving me the strength of a superhuman – of a demigod.

I jammed my sword between the monster's eyes and it dissolved into dust. With nothing to land on, I fell to the ground, soaking wet and hurting in every part of my body. I coughed up the remains of the monster – it tasted like overcooked steak – and stood up to check the other two. Gwen was still unconscious, but the other kid took off his helmet and stared. He was even paler than I thought, and his blond hair was now dripping wet. Everything between me and the river was drenched in water.

"That was… that was amazing," he whispered. He was clutching his shoulder where the gash was. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know. I just did." I looked at Gwen. "Is she alright?"

The other guy smiled tiredly. He must have been my age, maybe a year or two older. "She'll be fine once we get some nectar and ambrosia inside her."

He walked forward and stuck out his hand. Even though he was just in a fight for his life, he had a crazy gleam in his eyes, like he was just given a new toy to experiment with. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"My name's Octavian. Who are you?"

"Hi. I'm… I'm passing out." I fell forward, and the world turned black.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note: I didn't like Octavian's character in the book, I felt it was too one-dimensional. I'm writing him differently to hopefully develop his character and how he ended up being the augur we all love to hate. There won't be interactions with the Greeks except for some mentions.**_

I didn't dream. All I saw was darkness and several voices arguing somewhere above me.

"Did you see what he did? It's him. It has to be him."

"Quiet. We'll find out soon enough. Right now, he needs rest."

"We don't have time!"

"If we wake him he'll die, and then he's _definitely _not the child of prophecy."

"But – "

"Later, Octavian. Now get out of here. Or did you want to risk some more nectar?"

I didn't recognize the voices, but I did recognize that tone. It's the one that teachers used when they told me to do a question they knew I couldn't solve in front of everybody. I pretended to be asleep and waited to hear footsteps. Sure enough, I heard a set of feet stepping away out of earshot. I risked cracking an eye open and saw the blond guy sitting beside me, scowling at the door.

The room I was in looked like a clinic designed by a time traveler. The walls were painted in that weird shade of white that old hospitals had; not dirty, but not quite white either. The ceiling looked like cracked tiles – mosaic, I think it's called – and every edge of the room had grooves, maybe to resemble columns. There was a bedside table with a stack of clothes and leaning beside it on the floor was my backpack. An IV drip loomed above me, but luckily it was empty. I wasn't hurt _that _badly. Right?

"Percy Jackson," I said. I expected a croak, but I sounded fine. I managed a smile when I saw the blond guy jump in his seat. He turned to look at me. He seemed alright, but he had bandages on his shoulder and he still had that crazy look in his eye. Maybe that was just how he normally looked? Suddenly I felt less like a patient and more like the board in an Operation box set.

"What?"

"My name. You asked me before I went out," I said.

He grinned. "Right. I don't think we've formally met." He stuck out his hand again. "My name's Octavian Aelius. Welcome to Camp Jupiter."

I closed my eyes, laid down, and felt a soft pillow cushioning my head. I don't remember the last time I felt a pillow. I think… I think after my twelfth birthday party, which consisted of me, my mom, and a blue cupcake with a candle on it, I went to bed, thinking that I would soon be a teenager, that I would soon grow up. Then I woke up in the ruins, and the wolves came.

Now I'm here. I hope it was worth it. Lupa taught me a lot of cool things, and I really didn't miss middle school, but I did worry about my mom. I was told that she knew it was going to happen at some point, but still. I hadn't spoken to her in months. She was probably more concerned than I was. Especially since I left her with Gabe.

My stomach clenched involuntarily at the thought of my stepdad. If my real dad would step in, then maybe she wouldn't have to put up with such a tool. I guess I had to step up. For now, though, I needed to figure out where I stood. I opened my eyes and saw that Octavian hadn't looked away.

"What's Camp Jupiter? And why did I have to fight a living hamburger to get here?"

"That living hamburger was the Minotaur. And I think it's easier to show you. Come on, let's get out of here. Oh, and you might want to change," he added, nodding to the stack of clothes: a purple T-shirt and a pair of jeans. "You've been in those clothes for three days now."

"I was out for three days?" I've never been knocked out. I once slept for 12 hours when my mom first got me a PlayStation, but three days?

"Between the journey here from the Wolf House, the fight with the Minotaur, and whatever it is you did with the water? I'm surprised you're already awake."

"Wait. The Wolf House? You know about the Wolf House?"

That got a self-satisfied smirk. He lifted his right arm, and for the first time I saw black markings on the length of his forearm. The letters SPQR, what looked like a big letter U with some lines on the inside, and a single strip. I thought they were tattoos, but they were darker and fuller, like they'd been burned onto his skin. Or drawn with a Sharpie. Somehow, I didn't think it was that second one.

"You're not the only one who's gifted. Get changed and follow me outside."

I waited till he left and pulled on the clothes set out for me. They fit perfectly. It was a nice change after so many years of having to wear hand-me-downs from my uncles or cousins or whatever my mom could scrounge up in the thrift store. I guess there really were other kids like me here. I felt butterflies in my stomach. Could this be it? Could this be where I belonged?

I couldn't wait to find out. I exited the room to find Octavian waiting for me, and together we left the infirmary and out onto Camp Jupiter.

It was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen, and that includes the Minotaur and my reflection when I wake up in the morning. Everything looked like upsized pieces from a museum (not that I go to museums) or sets from old 80s movies. Guys and girls my age would walk around, marching in full armor with earphones on or talking about the latest episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine while carrying heaps of swords. It was a clash between normal life and a corny high school play. I loved it.

"Here, well, we have the infirmary. Normally it's filled to the brim, but we haven't had any war games in a while, so it's more or less empty for now. In this area we have the barracks, where the legionnaires live – I guess you can call them dorms. Over there are the baths – "

"Baths? We have to share baths?" I asked. Even back home we had our own bathroom.

Octavian looked at me quizzically. "Have to? People pay to do it. You haven't lived till you tried a Roman bath," he said. I couldn't tell if he was joking.

"Right, I think I'd rather keep my private parts private, thank you."

"Your loss. Anyway, we should get you over to the principia."

"The principal?" I had a sour taste in my mouth. Like the rock candy they put on principals' desks.

"Principia. Though I guess you can say that our, ah, principals live there. Here in Camp Jupiter our leaders are called praetors. They oversee everything going on in the legion, make all the big decisions, have the biggest votes in the senate, and generally control the fate of Rome's legacy and everyone in camp, living and dead. No big deal." He tried to keep his voice casual, but I could hear the pride in his voice. Octavian definitely wasn't a leader – he looked too much like me – though he sounded like a kid showing off his report card to his parents.

"Living or dead?" I asked.

"Yes. You haven't noticed?" he spread his arms and looked around.

I followed his eyes and sure enough, I saw dead people. Purple men and women in togas, floating in the air, chatting away like normal people. Except I could see through them.

"Lares, we call them. House gods. They're harmless, but they know everything in camp and are so judgmental."

"I can imagine." I couldn't, actually, but I was busy taking things in. In Yancy Academy, my school before all this, I didn't really have any friends who were into architecture and stuff. My teacher Mr. Brunner was all over Greek history though, and I thought he would love this place. The only experience I had with design was the squat buildings in New York and the faraway skyline, but even I could appreciate the beauty of this place. Every curve and sleek design just looked right. The marble and limestone buildings were neat and rigid, like they were meant to be used and not looked at, but someone obviously put a lot of love into their construction. Even the cobblestones were pristine, not a weed to be seen.

"Alright. We're here," Octavian said.

I looked up at the building in front of us. "What is this, the Lincoln Memorial?" It looked exactly like it, only smaller and without the actual memorial inside. Instead, we were presented to a couple stone doors that looked impossibly heavy and freshly painted white walls.

"You wish. The Lincoln Memorial's design was based on Roman architecture. Those pillars, those slanted rooftops? Totally uninspired, but I guess you can't improve perfection. Come on. The praetors would want a chat with you."

"The praetors? The principal guys? What're they gonna do, interrogate me?" I joked.

Octavian looked at me like I was from another planet. "Well… yes."

Together we pushed the doors open and stepped inside. I was instantly reminded of a bank. The slick marble floor and eerily quiet halls were familiar enough. On the ceiling a mosaic of Romulus and Remus, sitting under the gaze of Lupa, stared down onto us. The walls were draped in velvet, and instead of looking cheesy they seemed to blend in perfectly. In the corner was a suspiciously dark stairwell, and in the center of the room was a long wooden table, covered in scrolls, tablets, laptops, and reams of paper with pens and markers of all colors scattered across. A heavy stamp sat at the center. Behind it were a pair of high-backed chairs where two guys who looked old enough to attend college were arguing. To either side of the table there were a pair of dog statues, one silver and one gold.

"You know we have to do it. We can't be complacent!"

"You're being reckless. I won't have it, Jules. Now give it a rest." He turned to us. "New blood, yeah?"

I wasn't sure what to say, so I just nodded.

"I heard you took down the Minotaur all by yourself," he said softly. They were about eighteen, dressed like me but with a purple cape that would look like a bedsheet on me. On them, however, it was regal. I could almost pretend that they weren't wearing jeans and a tee. The one who spoke to me had brown eyes and brown hair, both so dark they could be black. He had tanned skin like he worked under the sun a lot, and a light spray of freckles dusted his nose and cheeks. His hands were steepled on the table in front of him, long fingers leading up to well-muscled arms and shoulders. He looked like a surfer, though he had a buttery smooth voice.

"No, that's not exactly true. The guards outside helped me. I wouldn't be here if they didn't," I said. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Octavian straighten up a bit. I realized that he hadn't said a word. It was such a difference from his usual chatty self that I couldn't help feeling a little worried.

"And yet you left two legionnaires wounded while you got off without a scratch. How do you explain that?" he asked. His tone hadn't changed, and yet I could feel my face reddening. I didn't want to mention what I could do. I know that I should, but I didn't. Thankfully Octavian stepped in.

"It was a three-man job. Me and Gwen distracted it, and Percy here saw a chance and took it. He killed the Minotaur before it focused on him. End of story," he stated. Technically it wasn't a lie.

"I don't remember asking you, Aelius," he replied. Now it was Octavian who got red-faced. He remained silent.

"I suppose we can't know for now sure. Let's focus on what we _can _do for now and get this over with," the other guy spoke up. I forgot he was there. The guy had curly black hair and olive skin that looked even darker with his tan. Two black eyes peered at me under the mass of curves tumbling on his forehead. He spoke with authority and strength, the kind of voice I expected a president to have.

"Let's sort out the paperwork." He leaned down and must have opened a filing cabinet under the table because he came up holding a few sheets of paper. He took up a pen and began filling it in.

"Full name, age, and date of birth?"

"Perseus Jackson, twelve, August 8, 1993," I said.

"Perseus. Interesting name. Demigod or legacy?" he asked.

"Uh… demigod. I think."

"You think?"

"I'm not sure what a legacy is," I admitted.

"I'm sure your friend Octavian here can explain," the soft-spoken guy said.

If Octavian took insult to the taunt, he didn't show it. "Legacies are children of demigods," he said. "I'm one. My mom is a daughter of Apollo." He stuck out his arm, showing his tattoos like they were all the explanation I needed.

"Apollo, god of… broken harps?"

"Music," the soft-spoken guy interrupted. "Poetry, healing, the sun, plagues, archery – "

"And prophecy," Octavian finished. He had that look in his eye again.

"Yes, thank you, Octavian," he whispered, sticking out his own arm. He also had the letters SPQR, but instead of a U, his symbol was a dove, and he had more strips than Octavian, at least seven or eight. "I'm Marcus, son of Venus, praetor of Camp Jupiter."

"Julius," the other guy grunted. "My dad's Mars. Just call me Jules. Do you know who your parent is?"

"I'm not sure. But I know my mom is mortal," I said. Jules was about to say something, but a metallic creak caught everyone's attention. The dogs had turned to face me. I was sure they were facing forward when I came into the room.

"Lying to a legionnaire will earn you a beating. Lying to a praetor…" Marcus left the threat hanging.

"I'm not lying!" I blurted out. "I really don't know who my dad is. I – I have some ideas, but I never met him." The dogs didn't react.

"If they're satisfied, so am I," Jules said. "You seem like a good kid. I don't know what you're hiding, but lots of demigods are insecure about their parents. Take your time and let us know as soon as possible. I don't want to be digging through our archives a month later just to fill in a blank. Any letters of recommendations? Sponsors?"

"Um – "

"I'll sponsor him," Octavian said. "I'll show him around, teach everything he needs to know, and prepare him for the legion. He can be in the Fifth Cohort with me."

That was a lot, coming from a guy I just met. Evidently the praetors thought so too. Both of them looked up and stared down Octavian.

"I don't see why not." Jules glanced at Marcus.

"Better him than us, yes. Perseus Jackson, you have been assigned to the sponsorship of Octavian Aelius, legacy of Apollo, to serve on probatiothe Twelfth Legion Fulminata of New Rome under the Fifth Cohort. Do you accept?"

"Yes." This was way too much too fast. Even though I didn't understand a word he said, it sounded cool. I felt like I was accepted into something a lot bigger than me. It gave me purpose and somehow, pride.

"Great." Marcus reached under the table and produced a small necklace with a lead tablet on it, then tossed it to me. I caught it with one hand. "Put that on. Octavian, if you could show him the barracks," he said, talking like there was an inside joke I didn't get.

"Of course." Octavian nodded to them. I did the same, and together we left for the legion. A shiver ran down my neck. Something told me their eyes bored onto my back as I was walking. Maybe it was just my imagination. I hoped.

Back outside, the sun was setting. I didn't realize that much time had passed. The light glinted off the soft ripples of the river in the distance and stung my eyes. Still, I could take a moment and take it all in.

"There'll be time enough for sightseeing later," Octavian said, pulling me towards the barracks. "Come on. Let's get you settled in first."

"Octavian? Why did those guys make fun of you?"

He glanced back at me, surprised. "What? They weren't – "

"It's alright, man. I've been there. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

"It's… it's fine." It wasn't. He had to take a deep breath before continuing. "It's because I'm a legacy. Not a real demigod. I'm more human than most of the people here, especially in the legion. I can barely handle nectar and ambrosia, and my gifts are a bit…"

"Watered down?" I offered.

"Diluted. But yes, I had to work twice as hard as everybody else to be taken seriously. Despite my family's best efforts."

"Your family? What – "

"We're here," he said abruptly. I made a mental note to talk about his family later. Maybe when we were alone. I looked away from him and to the direction he was headed. Like most of the buildings here, it was squat and painted white, but tucked away behind a load of dining tables. Soot and dirt had seeped into the walls that looked impossible to remove. Even though its construction was like everything else, it just seemed sad. A small golden symbol of an eagle with its wings stretched stuck to the front of the building. It looked more like burnished bronze.

"I thought the barracks were over that way," I pointed to the direction of the infirmary. The cobblestone road led a little further from here.

"Most of them, yes. But the Fifth Cohort is special. This is our home," he said. He pushed the door open, and the first thing I noticed was the smell. The kitchens must not be very far from here, and neither was the garbage dump, apparently. The Roman design was brought down by the terrible state it was in. A long corridor ran through the length of the building. I could see corners along the way, five to either to either side, which I assumed would lead to the actual rooms. The dim lighting was just enough for me to make out scraps of candy wrappers on the floor alongside bits of lint and what looked like shrapnel.

"It's usually a lot better," he said unconvincingly. This place reminded me of the one time I went to my stepdad's 'office'. "Come on. I'll show you to our room."

"'Our'?"

He stepped forward and walked into the first room to our right. It went for a few paces before they ended in front of a flimsy wooden door. It creaked open and we pushed inside.

I'm not claustrophobic or anything, but this room made me question it. Five bunk beds lined the walls, three on one side and two on the other. A large wardrobe claimed an entire section of the room and in the middle was a decent sized table with half a dozen chairs ringed around it. Three of them were occupied, and three faces looked up.

Two of them were girls. The girl on the left had bushy black hair drawn to a ponytail and thick eyebrows over startling blue eyes the color of Gatorade. Her nose was a little big and her lips were taut over her strong jaw. The girl on the right was even skinnier than Octavian. Her mouth had quirked into a grin and her brown eyes sparkled with mischief. A curtain of straight black hair fell to her shoulders. Between the two of them was a tall guy who looked like Octavian's older, cooler brother. They shared the same features, but he had a few more inches and about ten pounds on him. His eyes were more observant than Octavian's intense stare, though he tried for a weak smile.

Then I saw what was on the table. It was a curled horn the size of my arm. A few days ago, I would mistake it for a piece of firewood. Now I couldn't see it as anything other than the horn of the Minotaur.

"What's that doing here? I thought it went poof," I asked stupidly.

The skinny girl's grin got even wider. "Does that mean you don't want it?" The others rolled their eyes and groaned. "What? If he doesn't want it, we can all claim it."

"So you can pawn it off? No way," the guy grumbled. He turned to face me. "Does that mean it's true? You really did kill the Minotaur?"

The others looked at me expectantly. Even Octavian was quiet for a minute. "Yeah. Does that not happen often?"

The skinny girl burst out laughing. "I like this guy already! If he was any more clueless he'd be a Lare!"

"What's your name?" asked the other girl. Her voice was surprisingly chirpy, like a choir girl.

"Percy. Percy Jackson. I, uh, I just got here." I turned to Octavian for help.

"Percy got here a few days ago. And yes, it's true that the Minotaur chased him all the way through the tunnel. And it's true that he killed it," he stepped in.

"I thought that was just a rumor."

"It's not. I was on guard duty with Gwen. I fought it too."

The skinny girl frowned. "What? But if that's true, then why's he in the Fifth?"

"Because I sponsored him."

The others groaned. Even the girl looked put down. "Octavian, he probably saved your life! This is how you repay him?"

"Why? What's wrong with the Fifth?" I demanded. Was this like a temporary space for demigods who were about to be kicked out? Some kind of sick student exchange program? _Hey, glad you liked your three days Camp Jupiter! Now off you go to Yancy Academy!_

"We're the worst in the legion," the other girl explained. "Nobody goes here by choice, except for a few weirdos who actually want to be assigned to this place. Freaks and Greeks."

I felt a weight lift off my chest. "I can handle that." It was true. I hoped I would immediately fit in but changing from a loser to a popular kid overnight seemed more impossible than killing the Minotaur.

"My name's Percy," I said. I offered my hand to the blue-eyed girl.

"Vanessa." I thought she was going to break my hand with her grip.

"I'm Felix," the guy muttered.

"Alex," the skinny girl blurted out, shaking my hand way too fast.

There was an awkward silence.

"Not going to ask who's who?" Alex asked. "Or are you trying to guess? I think Vanessa is a bit obvious, but the rest of us – "

"Uh, you just introduced yourselves."

She scoffed. "Well, yeah, duh. You don't want to know who our godly parent is?"

"I think your own name is more important than your parents'," I shrugged.

There was another pause before Felix spoke up. "I think I understand why you're in the Fifth now," he said sagely.

"Yeah," Vanessa nodded. "He's pretty weird." I felt myself redden again. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Octavian smiling.

"Well, I think it's best if you knew. I'm a legacy of Vulcan," Vanessa said.

"My dad's Mercury," Alex grinned. "Just my luck. Maybe if he was Hermes I would have a decent handbag."

"I'm a son of Apollo," Felix said. He tried for another flimsy smile. The other two shifted their feet and their eyes darted to Octavian, who maintained a neutral expression. So that's why they looked so much alike. Though Felix seemed more… I don't know, godlike. I decided to keep that comment to myself.

"Great. Well, I'm not sure who my dad is, but my mom's name is Sally Jackson. She works in a small candy shop in Manhattan and she's ten times better than my father could ever be. That's the only thing about my parents I care about."

This time, everyone smiled and nodded. We could all agree on that.

"And if we're going to be roommates, then I guess we'll be friends too. So as far as I'm concerned," I picked up the horn, which was much heavier than it looked, "this belongs to all of us." I flipped it and jammed it point-first into the center of the table where it quivered.

Alex whistled. "You sure got a flair for the dramatic," she teased as she got up and stretched. "I gotta say, you're not half bad, Jackson. There might be hope for us yet." She turned to Vanessa. "Are we still on?"

"Yes," she said, standing too. "My project's almost done. Then I can help with your… uh, experiment." She flashed me a smile.

"Great. Well, we'll be seeing you guys tonight, then. Try not to get killed," she said before leaving the room. Vanessa waved and followed.

"Alright then. Now you know where you'll be staying for gods-know how long," Octavian spoke up. "Now we just need to get you some clothes and you'll be golden. Come on."

He stepped through the door without saying a word to Felix. I glanced at the taller kid. He looked a little embarrassed. "I'll, uh, I'll see you later then, Percy," he managed to say, pulling out a phone and immediately hiding behind it.

"Right," I said. Something was going on between him and Octavian. Clearly the other two knew about it. Before I could decide on something to say to him I left my new room to follow Octavian.

"They seemed nice," I said as I trudged alongside him.

"They are." He didn't continue the conversation.

"So how come they didn't have those tattoos?" I tried.

"Hm? Oh, they're on probatio, just like you. They only came to the legion a few months ago. You can only become a full member of the legion and earn your stripes after a year of service or an act of valor."

"An act of valor? You mean like killing the Minotaur?"

He cracked a smile. "Acts of valor for a fellow legionnaire. Self-preservation doesn't count."

"You and that other girl would be burger patties if I didn't jump in."

"And neither of us would be patties if you didn't show up," he shrugged. I hadn't thought about that.

"How is she, by the way? The other guard?"

"Gwen? She's fine, almost fully healed. The nectar and ambrosia did their job. It's almost like they're magic," he said. I chuckled, but my eyes were drawn to his bandages. Now I understood why he felt isolated. Just walking around made him look weaker.

We made our way through the street and through a pair of gates. Apparently Romans really liked gates. The path continued for a while until we came across a much wider, much fancier area. This was the city I saw from the end of the tunnel, I realized. It looked more like a city. The fancy building with the praetors (the principalis, Octavian called it), the barracks, and the infirmary looked like a war camp. This place looked like a miniature Rome. There was more variety in the buildings, but they had that distinct design. Still, I could see bakeries, clothing stores, armories, cafes, chariot dealerships, what looked like a court of the lawyer variety, a life-size replica of the Colosseum, libraries, and everything else you would expect to find in a hidden branch of ancient Rome during the 21st century.

I stepped forward, excited to see more of this paradise.

"Halt! No weapons through the Pomerian Line!" a voice screeched. I whipped around, but nothing was there. Octavian held out a hand.

"Give it a second."

With a pop, a floating statue was suddenly floating in front of me. He was the size of an elevator door and looked like a classical Roman statue – that is, ripped and nude. Thankfully, from the waist down he was just a block of marble. For some reason he didn't have arms.

"No weapons in the Pomerian Line!" it screamed again. "Cease and desist! Legionnaire, detain him at once!"

"Calm down, Terminus," Octavian said, giving Percy a look that seemed to say, _just go along with me. _"Percy's new here. And he doesn't have any clothes, let alone weapons."

"What a load of Minotaur dung! Check his pockets! His pockets!"

I frowned until I reached inside my right pocket. Sure enough, I could feel the familiar shape of my coin. I pulled it out. "Sorry, I forgot that it would come back – "

"I will not stand for this! Julia, seize it! Julia! Where has that child run off to?" He looked around. Just then I noticed a little mop of blond hair hiding behind a corner of a building. A squeal sounded, and a little girl about six years old came running forward, carrying a tray filled with scissors, nail clippers, and a steak knife.

"Give her the coin," the statue said.

"Are you sure? It can turn into – "

"Yes, yes," he said. He rolled his eyes, and I could imagine him waving his hands. If he had any. "Not to worry, Julia is an expert in deadly weapons."

She nodded gravely. I turned to Octavian, who smirked and ruffled the girl's hair. "I don't know anyone more trustworthy."

I shrugged and clinked it on the tray she held out. Julia beamed.

"Thank you. Now, what is this I hear about clothes? You just need to go a store – I recommend the Topsy Toga, since all their merchandise is regulation length. It's just over there, next to the building with the blue awning – no, look where I'm pointing."

"How? You don't have hands."

Apparently that was a sore point. Julia giggled and ran away. Octavian rubbed his face with his palm. The statue's face turned dark.

"A smart aleck, huh? Well, Mr. Rule Flouter, I guess Octavian can take you there. Or would you rather wait for me to grow a pair of arms?"

"Thank you, Terminus, I'll take it from here," Octavian said winningly. The statue grumbled and floated away, muttering something about artist's renditions and poor craftsmanship.

"That was interesting."

"Yeah, Terminus is a real stickler. I guess you can't help it when you're the god of boundaries," Octavian shrugged. My eyes widened.

"That was – that was a god?"

"A minor one, yes. But don't you say that to his face, otherwise he'd have the whole Cohort polishing New Rome. He protects us, keeps the peace."

"What happens if someone brings a weapon inside?"

"They disappear, along with whatever they brought with them." I could never tell when Octavian was joking.

Soon enough, we found the place Terminus suggested. Octavian informed me that they only sold clothes for formal events and nerds, so he took me to a much more normal place and we bought the bare necessities of a wardrobe. He paid the cashier in golden coins, kind of like the one I gave Julia, but rounder and shinier.

"Oh, dude, are you covering for me? I'll pay you back, I promise, it's just – "

"It's fine," he said easily. "It's part of my responsibility of sponsoring you."

I still felt bad. He showed me around some more before I could start complaining.

"This is New Rome. Technically Camp Jupiter is back there, but they're one and the same, really. The only difference is the Pomerian Line – city limits – to ensure all the swords and spears stay in camp. This is where families live, where we hold meetings, and host the biggest events of the year. This is where we go to school – "

"School?" I choked out. "I came all this way to avoid school. I have to go back?"

"Yup. In addition to legion training and all its responsibilities, we're expected to complete a normal education. I mean, you can be the strongest demigod in the world, but the legion needs people who can count past twenty. Besides," he added just as I was about to whine, "when you get old, you'll need to get some kind of job. Denarii don't grow on trees, you know."

I grumbled a lot. He made too much sense. After getting over the shock, we headed back to camp. There was a huge commotion in the dining area.

I craned my neck to check it out, and there were about two hundred kids seated at the tables, eating and talking and laughing as food literally zipped through the air, carried by invisible hands and floated directly in front of them. My stomach growled, and I started to walk towards them, but Octavian cursed and held me back.

"We're late."

"It's never too late to eat," I complained.

"It is in camp. They don't tolerate lateness. The last time that happened…" he shuddered. "We can go straight into the barracks. We'll pass by the kitchen, sneak in, grab something, and dash out."

My stomach rebelled. Octavian knew more than I did, though, so I decided to just follow his lead. Along the way I could see that most of the people had phones on their hands or tables.

"How are they using phones? Don't they alert every nasty in the area?" I whispered.

"They do. But the camp's magic prevents detection. We can actually use technology here, but the wi-fi isn't great."

Suddenly there was a lump in my throat. "Could we maybe, um, make a call to New York?"

Octavian looked like he got where I was coming from. "Of course, Percy. No problem. There's a call center in New Rome, but I think we should go tomorrow. After everything you've had to adjust to today, well… a new day brings a clear mind."

I nodded and forced the lump back down. I was determined not to cry. It's just that I missed my mom so much. It wasn't as bad with Lupa, because I sort of looked at her as a mother figure. But now….

I swallowed my emotions. Tomorrow. Octavian was right. I hadn't realized how tired I was.

We snuck into the kitchens, where the pots and pans were manned by invisible people; aurae, or wind spirits, Octavian had said. We intercepted some bits of food flying to the distance – at one point I overreached, heard an indignant gasp and felt a solid slap on my face. Right. Invisible, but very, very strong.

"So how did you get your stripe?" I asked between bites of nachos and seven-layer dip.

"Same as everyone, really," he said. "A year of service. We haven't seen acts of valor in a while now. In fact, we haven't seen much change since those two became praetors."

I turned to see where he was glaring. Marcus and Jules were sitting at the cool kids' table, huddled together with a bunch of older guys and girls and deep in discussion.

"They seem alright."

"They're not terrible people, objectively," Octavian agreed. "If I'm being objective, though, the legion hasn't improved. When we had our vote, everyone thought that they would balance each other out. But now they can't decide on anything."

"It's better than having a yes man," I suggested. Octavian shook his head.

"No. What they're lacking isn't coordination. Well, they do lack that. But more importantly, they need vision. A shared goal." He had a hungry look in his eyes. And since he just inhaled a cheeseburger, I meant that metaphorically.

After we got our fill we ducked back inside the barracks to find the other three already in their bunk beds. Felix was snoring away, and after helping me put away my clothes, Octavian crawled into the bed below him. Three beds for the guys and two for the girls. We didn't mix. That would be gross.

The girls were hidden below their sheets, though from the light shining through them I knew they'd be on their phones till they fell asleep. I climbed onto the top bunk and stared to the ceiling. I hadn't even bothered to change. Instead I pulled my thin blanket to my nose.

It was way too much to process. I had worried about fitting in, but now I worried about standing out. Octavian expected something from me, and I felt like I owed it to him. After seeing how Marcus treated him he definitely put his neck on the line. And my roommates looked about as enthusiastic as the other kids in school. Something was wrong with this Cohort. It's like they're carrying a failure that would outweigh everything they could do, so they didn't even bother trying. Octavian was an exception, but even he had a lot of anger inside of him.

I had to prove myself, by myself. Whatever it is that was bringing them down, I knew I could solve it. But lying here in bed, I felt very, very small.


	3. Chapter 3

"Wake up!"

I gasped and bolted upright.

"What – who – what?" I stuttered.

"You look terrible, young man! Why, you look worse than a Greek!" cried out a voice I didn't recognize. I turned to the side and saw a ghost. He was a bit taller than me and a lot older. His belly looked like a swollen grape, and he huffed and adjusted his toga when he caught me staring.

"What're you waiting for? Get up! Get up!" he continued.

"What time is it?" I said out loud.

"It's late o'clock! Now get out of bed!"

"Vitellius," I heard a zombie speak beneath me. "Legion training doesn't begin in two hours."

Everyone looked as tired as I felt. They were bleary eyed and scowling, but awake. Vanessa's hair looked like steel wool, and Alex tried to go back to sleep. Vitellius began to direct her attention to her and I took the chance to look at the roommates underneath my bed.

Felix didn't look much better than me. Octavian was already seated in his bed and started stretching. "Vitellius is our Cohort's Lare. He's a legacy of Aesculapius, and I hate to say it, but he's right," he grumbled. "We should get going. We have weapons training today. We're going to need to teach Percy, too."

'Weapons' was the only thing I heard. I was not a morning person. The only reason I could be awake at this hour was Lupa's training. Still, I couldn't disappoint my Cohort. I jumped off, opened our wardrobe, and started ruffling through our clothes.

"Where do you guys keep your towels?" I asked.

"Towels? Wait, you're going to shower?" Alex laughed. "Trust me new kid, once Dakota's done with you you'll smell worse than the latrines. Don't bother."

I wrinkled my nose at that. Everyone else nodded groggily, though, so I just followed along. I guess this was part of the learning experience. I followed Octavian and Felix to the showers at the end of the barracks. Along the way we passed other legionnaires coming out of the four rooms to either side of the hall, kept awake only by Vitellius. We made our way to the guys' showers and just got changed. I noticed that most of them were pretty buff for their age. It made me self-conscious of my stick arms.

Everyone drifted back to small groups of four or five, their roommates, I assumed, because I huddled with my friends too. The early morning air felt like a cold shower as we stood in front of the barracks. It seemed like I was the only one who noticed the chill, because everybody started stretching. I followed suit, though my mind still wandered. What did weapons training mean? Killing monsters? Quests? Adventures? And who's Dakota?

"Good morning Fifth Cohort!" a voice rang out. A tall guy with curly black hair stepped out in front of the masses. His blue eyes were darting to every direction, and since they didn't quite line up he looked a bit like a chameleon. He looked like he was wearing lipstick, his lips were so red. It was a little hard to take him seriously, but his burly arms, toned legs, and the fact that everyone stood at attention told me that he was the real deal.

"Ah, I see some new faces! Good, good, always good to have more people in the Fifth," he said cheerily. "My name's Dakota! I've been here for a few years longer than most of you, so our centurions have decided to give the responsibility of morning workout to me. And every other responsibility as well."

He grinned. The pearly white teeth between his bloodred lips made him look like a vampire.

"Alright! Today we're scheduled for a run around Camp Jupiter. We'll take a quick break as we walk to the sparring pit, where we'll drill close quarters combat and formations. That'll be everything for today, then you can do whatever you want. And since I'm so nice, we won't be running in full gear today. Have fun, Romans! Ave!" he yelled almost too loudly.

Everyone else gave a halfhearted reply. A morning run didn't sound too bad, but I perked up at the mention of combat. Sword fighting was the one thing I could do well. Maybe I can finally prove myself.

"Is Dakota our centurion? What's a centurion?" I asked Octavian as we started to drift apart to our little groups again. This time, however, Dakota led us to the outskirts of camp.

"A centurion is like a praetor, but for one cohort instead of the whole legion. Dakota's technically not a centurion, but considering how terrible the real guys are, I'm happy that he takes charge," Octavian said. Alex snorted and pulled up to me.

"Don't sugarcoat it, Octavian," she said. "Our centurions are the embarrassment of the entire legion. Normally we can find someone who deserves the spot, but Marcus and Jules decided to step in and make sure we get idiots for praetors."

"What? Why?"

"That way, the Fifth Cohort will always be the losers, and everyone has something to laugh at," she explained. "It helps other centurions keep their cohorts in line. Nothing will make you work harder than the threat of getting transferred to the Fifth."

The others nodded gravely. Everyone else had their heads down. I didn't think it had anything to do with the cold. Octavian kept his eyes level. He stared straight into the horizon, as if he was daring the sun to come out and blind him. I couldn't help but admire the determination in those intense blue eyes, and he scared me a little. I can't let all this talk about the Fifth bring me down too. I guess I'd just have to make us the best. Then nobody can say anything about us.

Dakota had taken us all the way to the riverbank. I've always been a pretty strong runner, but all that water was distracting. It was all I could do to keep running and not swim. I had never been more tired and refreshed at the same time.

The morning air blew between my hair and tickled my scalp. I remembered how I felt a few days ago, alone and afraid, and now I'm pounding my feet on the dirt with forty other legionnaires. I quickly got out of breath, but being surrounded by people, by friends, filled me with strength and reassurance that I would not fail. It just wasn't possible.

"This is amazing!" I breathed between gasps for air. My body screamed at me to take a break, and I found that my mind was too exhilarated to listen. I picked up the pace. I grinned to my roommates.

"I love this guy!" Alex laughed. "Maybe if he runs away from responsibilities this fast he'll survive after all!"

"Don't mind her," Vanessa huffed. "You're doing amazing, Percy. I threw up halfway through my first run. I would've passed out if it wasn't for Felix."

"You didn't mention where you threw up," Octavian grumbled.

"It was spectacular," Felix grinned.

"It was disgusting! I had to wash my shoes every day for a week to get rid of the smell! In the end I couldn't put them on without getting nauseous, so I gave them to some faun."

"Shut up," said Vanessa. "It wasn't that bad!" Despite her complaints, I could see her smiling. I laughed along with everybody else.

Eventually the euphoria ended. The morning air turned sunny and hot, and I was sweating so much I thought I was going to drown. And we kept going. I could still keep up with everybody else, but it was a losing battle. After I started to see spots Dakota finally stopped and held up his hand.

"Alright everyone! That was a good run. I like the energy! I approve! Take a short break if you want, but last one to the pit is on latrine duty for the rest of the week!" he shouted.

I didn't know what latrines are but judging from how fast everyone ran I did not want to find out. In the end Dakota pulled up the rear, even though he only had a light sheen of sweat after the run. I noticed that while most of the cohort were dying of thirst, most of the older kids just looked a little bored. We must have run at least five laps around the entirety of Camp Jupiter and these guys were just getting started. I wondered if I could ever be that badass.

"Right. Everyone take a breather, then head over to the armory! It's weapons training, so no need to put on armor. And someone help the new kid!" Octavian raised his hand and nodded along with the others. Their lungs were still too busy to talk.

Together we made our way to the armory. It looked like a garden shed, except it was the size of a house. The walls were uncharacteristically flat and unadorned, but there was a wooden symbol painted red above the similarly colored doors. It showed two weird spears that looked like needles, crossed and pointing to the roof.

The inside reminded me of a greenhouse, but instead of plants, there were rows upon rows of weapons racked up on wooden hooks placed on tall shelves. Swords, spears, shields, helmets, and pieces of armor of all shapes and sizes were arranged into neat lines. Most of them was the old reliable color of steel but lining the wall on the furthest end were a random assortment of Imperial gold weapons. Everyone cautiously avoided it. I tried to peel my eyes off them and focused on what Octavian was saying.

"This is the standard sword, the gladius," he explained, handing me one a bit smaller than my own weapon. It had the familiar shape and weight, but it just felt wrong in my hands, like I was playing a guitar that wasn't mine. "It's short and simple. You use it for stabbing and thrusting, not so much for slashing. For that you need one of those," he pointed further down the row.

"These are spatha. It's normally for cavalry, but heavy infantry uses it too," Vanessa added, motioning to the larger swords she was approaching. She picked one up. While a gladius felt a little small for me and a spatha was way too big, it looked just right in her hands. She held it up to her eyes to inspect the blade and I noticed that her arms were the size of tree trunks. I must have stared a little too long because she turned to me suddenly and I quickly looked away. Hopefully she didn't think I was blushing. I wasn't. Just tired from the run.

"I guess you're more comfortable with swords since you took down the Minotaur, but it's important that you know how to use anything. Rome was built on adaptability. Even Felix had to learn how to use a gladius," she explained as she brandished her sword.

It was hard to imagine the gentle guy do anything but smile shyly and look at his shoes. He was doing it again.

"Yeah, I'm more of an archer. And a healer. But I am pretty handy with these, too," he said, picking up one of those weird spears. "This is called a pilum. It's more of a javelin than a spear. The blade is just a really long spike. We don't use it that often for close quarters fighting, unless we're in formation. You'll understand how it works soon enough," he grinned. He almost looked as devious as Alex.

"You need to learn how to use these too." Alex herself turned the corner to hand me a knife. It had a strange leaf shape, like my mom's vase she made in pottery class that turned out wide on the bottom, narrowed in the middle, and back to being a little wide before narrowing to a point. "A pugio. It's a simple knife that you can use for stabbing when your opponent's distracted," she said, wrinkling her nose. "It's a little old-fashioned, but only traditional weapons come in Imperial gold, so we have to make practice with this stuff." She handed it to me.

At this point I struggled under the weight of so many weapons. Then Octavian came to save me as usual. He attached a belt to my waist where I could put away my gladius and pugio, so I only had to hold the pilum. I was about to thank him before he handed me a wooden board the size of a window, slightly curved at the sides so it looked like a pipe cut in half. It reached all the way from my knees to my neck.

"The shield is called a scutum," he intoned before stepping back to check his handiwork. I could barely hold it up. "You need to learn how to protect yourself while you fight, of course, and it's usually the only reason why people don't get killed when we spar."

"This is insane. I thought we were sword fighting?"

"Weapons training," Octavian corrected. "Sure, we mostly do swords, but – "

"It's important that I can do everything," I sighed. "Right."

"Glad the others are helping you out too. Now come on. Let's get to the reason why we came here."

We waded outside between the mass of people leaving at the same time. Since we were all heavily armed teenagers it was all we could do to avoid stabbing each other by accident. Even then a bunch of kids twirled daggers and poked each other with the butts of their spears. For once I was glad that my mom wasn't here.

"Alright! Great! This is great! Everyone ready?!" Dakota screeched. He looked even more energetic than he was before the run. He took a long swig from a hip flask and his mouth was stained an even deeper shade of red, looking almost maroon.

"Is he drinking wine?" I asked.

"What? Of course not!" Alex said, aghast. "That's just red Kool-Aid with three times the normal amount of sugar. We're not allowed to drink in camp. If Dakota was drunk on anything other than Kool-Aid…" she shuddered.

"Alright! Alright! Let's get everyone seated in a circle. I'll go through the motions, show you what we'll practice today, and – oh! That's right! Almost forgot," he grinned straight at me. "New kid! Get over here!"

I swallowed and stepped forward.

"Good luck," Octavian whispered. "Dakota doesn't look like much and everyone underestimates the children of Bacchus, but he's the best swordsman in the Fifth and one of the best in the legion." He patted my shoulder before moving with the others to sit. I looked around at the rest of the cohort. They were smirking and whispering to their friends, giggling as they did. That did not help calm me down. I held my ground.

"Right. I heard you killed the Minotaur," Dakota said. He looked even more intimidating up close. "But you haven't been fully trained. I mean, I'm sure Lupa did her best but she doesn't have, you know, hands," he said, flailing his arms. The legionnaires snickered.

"Anyway. The legion is your home as much as Camp Jupiter is. We tell you everything about us, so it's only fair that you show us what you got too. That way we'll learn what you can do, what you can't do, and what you should do. Also, if you ever have a gladiator fight we'll know what the betting odds are."

"What?"

He nodded gravely. "It's a serious matter. How are we doing?"

"It's only two to one against Percy, actually," Alex called out. "He did take down the Minotaur." A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd, along with some coins, I noticed. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest. I'm not terrible but carrying around this dead weight of a shield will only bring me down. I stabbed my pilum to the ground. No sense weighing me down even more. Dakota nodded approvingly and did the same.

"Alright then, golden boy," Dakota grinned. "You're going to be sparring with me first. Everyone watch carefully!" He grinned, hefted his shield, and my mind instantly focused. I'm not sure how to describe it. It's like the opposite of getting laughing gas at the dentist. Nothing else mattered but what was in front of me. And right now, it was a really good swordsman. We stood at opposite ends of the circle, keeping as much distance as we could between each other while we assessed our opponent. He was stronger, tougher, faster, and better than me. My only chance would be to take him by surprise.

Dakota lashed out in an instant. I could barely bring my shield up to take the hit. I felt the force of it jolt up my arm and my heels dug into the dirt as he struck again and again. My bones felt like they were going to break, so I slashed blindly to make some space between us. Instead, he ducked under my sword and shoved me with his scutum. I fell to the ground.

"You sure this is the right guy?" I felt my ears getting hot as everyone laughed. "Come on now, you're better than this. Let's try that again." I pulled myself to my feet using my shield. That was probably my best use of it.

I tried to take the offensive, but I was too clumsy with the scutum. I hissed as Dakota forced me to block. This time he didn't even wait for an opening and simply pushed his shield against mine. I fell down a second time.

"This is stupid!" I yelled through the surrounding laughter. "This thing is only weighing me down. It's useless!"

"You really think so?" Dakota grinned. "The shield is more important than the sword, new kid. It ensures that you can keep fighting. It's what keeps you and your fellow legionnaires alive. You need to show some appreciation. I guess by the way you're glaring at me you're not really listening, so I think a demonstration is in order." I frowned when he sheathed his gladius and held his scutum in both hands. "I'm pretty sure I can beat you with just a shield. What do you guys think?" The crowd roared, and I got back up to my feet.

I could finally fight back. But now that Dakota focused only on the defensive he easily took my attacks. Each strike bit into the wood and sent sawdust flying, but I wasn't making any progress. At this point he was just toying with me. I was about to try and tackle him until I forced myself to calm down.

_Deep breaths, _I thought. _Deep breaths. _Just like Lupa taught. Observe, plan, execute.

The scutum was long and the curved sides made it hard to get to his flank. It wasn't long enough to cover his eyes, and I could see him wiggling his eyebrows at me. I could almost see his grin too. But I could also see…

_His feet. _

I backed up a few steps and took a few deep breaths before advancing slowly. Dakota's eyes narrowed, and he pulled his shield closer.

I lunged, thrusting like I was going for his eyes. At the last second, I twisted the sword and drove the point down to his feet. He cursed and yanked it back just in time for me to graze a toe. But I was left in an awkward position, so he pushed me with his shield and I went down again. I grit my teeth and waited for the laughter, but instead there were murmurs. I looked around and the Cohort was leaning forward. It was close, and they knew it.

"Alright, alright," he muttered, smiling as he backed up, readying his shield. "Not gonna lie, you almost got me there," Dakota admitted. We inched closer to each other. "But you're still not using your shield. It's every bit the weapon a gladius is, just less flashy."

I forced myself to think. He was right, but the truth was I didn't have the coordination to attack with both arms. I would trip on my feet and fall over. If I had to use it, I'd be using it defensively. And since he's not holding a sword, I won't need my shield to defend…

We inched closer to each other. Then I threw my shield.

Dakota definitely didn't expect that. His eyes grew wide as he deflected it with his own scutum. I took the opportunity to charge.

_Now!_

I didn't even think of stabbing him. Instead I rolled forward diagonally, confident that he was going to counterattack. Sure enough, I felt a gust of wind blew over me and heard a gasp through the crowd. I came up with a backhanded swing, and the gladius ended pointing right at his neck. Dakota's eyes bulged.

The sparring pit was silent. Then he burst out laughing.

"That was pretty good! Now I get why you hate that shield so much," he said, brushing away my gladius. "Your style is attack, attack, attack. And you're not half bad at it."

I straightened and scanned the crowd nervously. Everyone was nodding with what I hoped was approval. My roommates were grinning, giving me thumbs ups and winks. My heart soared.

"I guess you taught _me _a lesson instead. You have talent, kid, but you have no form. You look like a cyclops trying to swat a mosquito. I'll show you how a Roman fights." This time he put down his shield and drew his gladius instead. "And I'll beat you at your own game. Let's see what you can really do," he grinned and assumed a stance. "And you'll see what _I_ can do."

I returned his smile and hefted my sword. Then we fought for real.

Dakota really was just playing around before. Now he fought with calculated, precise strokes of his gladius, moving like a conductor in front of an orchestra. I managed to parry most of his slashes but after a few swings he would always be able to hit my sword at an angle, making me drop my guard and allowing him to step in and rest his gladius on a vital area.

So I just had to be faster. I moved my feet as much as my sword, trying to circle him while attacking. I managed to reach through his sword sometimes, but he landed far more hits than me, and I was starting to get exhausted. Finally, I overextended. I lunged forward, and he sidestepped with a single movement. Dakota swung his gladius downwards with brutal speed and disarmed me, easy as breathing.

Panting, I fell on my butt. If I was sweaty before, I was drenched now. I felt like I would make a new river.

"Well," Dakota said. He sheathed his gladius and offered me a hand. "I think we've all seen enough." I grinned, took his hand, and he helped me to my feet. I could hear the crowd whispering.

"Maybe the rumors are actually true…"

"Beginner's luck, probably…"

"Did you see that? I never thought Dakota could bust out those moves!"

"Alright, everyone, alright," Dakota motioned them to settle down. "I think it's safe to say that we're proud to have…" he shot me a look.

"Percy Jackson."

"Percy Jackson as the newest member of the Fifth! Now, it's your turn to show off what you can do. Fifth Cohort!"

Everybody rose to their feet, banging their scutum with whatever weapon they were carrying.

"Alright, you know the drill. Everybody find a partner and spar until I tell you stop!" Dakota shouted. People scrambled to look for a partner. Dakota had turned to the older legionnaires.

"You! Stop that! The pilum is not meant to be shoved up your opponent's – hey!" He rushed off into the crowd, leaving me to wander back to my friends.

"That was amazing!" Felix gushed. "That was the first time I saw Dakota backed up to a corner like that."

"What? I could barely take him," I said. It was true, but I felt something warm tingling my chest and neck. I think it was pride.

"He wasn't exactly 'backed into a corner'", Octavian said. "But that was pretty great."

"You looked like you knew what you were doing," Vanessa nodded.

Alex patted me on the back. "I didn't think you could do it, but you pulled through," she said. "I guess it's our turn to impress you now."

"What, are you going to fight me too?"

She flashed a grin. "I don't think you can handle me, Jackson."

"You sure you don't have that backwards?"

She was about to give me a piece of her mind, possibly with the help of her gladius, but Octavian stepped between us. "Alright, let's save it for later," he said. "We don't want to look like we're slacking."

"Can't have that," Vanessa agree. She turned to face Felix and drew her spatha while the taller guy readied himself.

"Like Dakota said, it's important to understand what your friends can and can't do," Octavian said. "Especially for you. I have a feeling you'll be teaching _us _soon enough. But for now, just sit back and watch." He squared up against Alex.

They were a lot better trained than me. Their movements were like Dakota: calm, focused, and measured. After a while, though, it was clear that everyone had their own distinct style.

Vanessa would use her spatha like a hammer, using slow but powerful attacks on Felix. The poor guy looked uncomfortable using a sword. He tried to stick to the form that Dakota had used but he was barely holding on. I winced every time he took a hit on his shield. His arm would go numb for hours after this.

Octavian was better. He probably resembled Dakota the most, though he wasn't nearly as fast or as strong. He fought like playing chess, all calculating moves and slow but precise responses. He might have beat someone better than he was based on that discipline alone, but Alex was more than a match for him. The wiry girl was even faster than Dakota. Like me, she would neglect her shield, sometimes even tossing it to the ground, before darting back and forth and side to side with her gladius. She would almost always end with a feint or a lunge, and while Octavian fended her off she would dart in, draw her pugio, and hold it against a vital spot.

I didn't know if I could take her. She was more like a knife-fighter than a legionnaire, but it worked. The others relied on their training, but Alex was a natural warrior. She used her fast hands to put her own spin to the Roman fighting. It was amazing to watch.

"Something on my face?" she asked, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"No, uh, nothing," I managed to say. "Just wondered where you learned to fight like that."

She laughed, but as her eyes crinkled I could see pain in them. There were so many secrets in just our little room in the barracks I was starting to lose track.

"It's just boring doing the same things over and over again. I mean, I get it," she said as she sidestepped Octavian's thrusts, "but if you don't mix in some creativity you won't get anywhere. Kind of like you." She ducked a slash, hit her shield on Octavian's sword arm, making him grunt and drop it.

"You have no form but a lot of talent. And you went toe-to-toe with Dakota."

"Talent isn't everything," I said. "Hard work is more important."

"Sure, sure," she said. "Tell that to everyone else." Octavian grumbled and picked up his sword while she waved her arms expansively. I turned to see the other Fifth legionnaires focused and driven, hard at work – and yet their shoulders slumped. There was hardly any talking. Just grunting and groaning.

"We work just as hard as everyone else, and yet we get nothing for it," Alex said. Bitterness twisted her face into a scowl. "Can't convince me that it's right."

"Things will change," I insisted. "It's just a matter of fighting for what you want."

She just shrugged. "I like your optimism. Can't wait to see where it'll take you." She smiled sadly before returning to her match.

I tried to watch their every move, eventually standing to practice them myself. I attempted Alex's style and I ended up dropping my gladius and my shield, almost getting stabbed in the process. Maybe I should stick to what I can do.

After what felt like just a few more seconds of practice I heard a voice yelling.

"Alright boys and girls! That's it for weapons training for today. Good work! I like it! Now everybody pick up your pilum." Dakota guzzled some more Kool-Aid. Even he looked tired now. Everyone else looked much worse. I probably didn't look much better.

"We'll drill formations now. Form ranks!"

Immediately everyone moved to fall in. I stuck to the others like glue. We made a large rectangle, with five men in each line, eight ranks deep, so that all my roommates were in one row. I stood in the middle, between Octavian and Felix.

"Cohort! _Frontem allargate!" _With an earthshaking stomp, legionnaires moved to either side several feet. I had no idea what Dakota said but the middle row didn't move, so I didn't either.

"Shields!" Now that I understood. I held up my shield and hunkered down behind it. My arm was starting to get sore before Dakota yelled another command. "Pila!"

Every single legionnaire shouted. It was even louder than the stomping. We all lowered our spears to face Dakota, who went to pace through our formation, looking for mistakes. He must have been satisfied because he returned to his position in the front.

"_Agmen formate!"_ We closed ranks and locked shields. Now if there were just ten or twenty of us, we'd look ridiculous. Right now, I felt like a cog in a very well-oiled Roman war machine.

"_Testudinem formate! Cuneum formate! Orbem formate!"_

And so it went. I struggled to keep up. At one point I thought Dakota was tossing in menu items from Domino's but the Fifth took this even more seriously than the weapons training, so I just followed their lead. I could guess why. I can fight one, maybe two monsters alone. Together we'd be unstoppable. As long as we survived our drills, that is. Dakota certainly pushed us. By the time he called for another break we all collapsed.

"Good work," he croaked. Drinking from his flash helped his cracked voice a little.

"Good work, everyone. Especially the new kid. Thought he'd take longer to get comfortable in the cohort but he's not that bad. Ave, Percy Jackson!"

"Ave!" came the polite shout.

"Right. That's all for today. Remember to keep practicing beyond our mandatory exercises, and who knows, maybe we'll even win the Bellator Torneamentum!"

A chorus of groans rang through the crowd.

"Too optimistic? Alright, alright, I get it already. Maybe we won't qualify for latrine duty every other week?"

A cheer rang through the crowd.

"The bell what?" I whispered to Octavian.

"A tournament," he explained. "We have one annually, right before the school year starts to mark the end of summer, so about a week from now. It's a big competition involving the whole legion. There's chariot racing, gladiator fights, the whole package. You do not want to miss out."

"What's the prize?"

"About a thousand denarii."

I felt like I should be impressed, but was that like pennies or Ferraris?

"Which is how many dollars?"

Octavian told me. I didn't believe him, then Felix and Vanessa and Alex all told me.

"That much? You can buy a house in New York!"

"Well traditionally you'd split it with your team. Chariot racing is a three-man job. But yeah. That's a lot of denarii."

We headed back to the barracks and hit the showers, and my head spun with dreams of diving through mountains of golden coins, like a Roman Scrooge McDuck. With that kind of money, I could pay back Octavian and then some. I wouldn't have to worry about paying for school. I could finally afford my own Netflix account. I could do all those things and still have denarii to spare.

"What would you do with a thousand denarii?" I asked aloud. We were sitting in our rooms, paralyzed in bed since our muscles were crying for a break that we were all too happy to give.

"Workshop," Vanessa said instantly. "Fund the projects I could only dream of doing. Make a change in New Rome that doesn't involve war or senate meetings for once."

"I'm not sure," Felix said. "I can't even imagine all that money. Maybe charity?"

"A classic Felix response," Alex mused. "I would… get a camera."

"A camera?"

"Canon. No – Leica. Analog. Even though I have no idea how to develop pictures."

"Didn't take you for that type," I said. Alex just shrugged.

"My life isn't all about steal – uh, making money, you know."

"Could've fooled me," Vanessa muttered. Alex reached down and flicked her ear.

"Is that so hard to believe? I mean, I've been here for almost a year, and I've never seen a single photograph. Not one! We're all about recording history and making a legacy and all that. I just want to record more than statistics down in our archives. You know?"

"I'd take the money and just make more money," Octavian said. Everyone groaned. "What? You'd be foolish not to invest. Spending it all in one place is irresponsible!"

"Not if you invest in yourself," Vanessa pointed out.

"I don't think that's a good investment," Octavian snorted.

They continued to bicker for a while. It reminded me of a normal classroom, which reminded me of home, which reminded me of…

_Mom._

I bolted upright.

"Uh, you okay there, Percy?" Vanessa asked.

"I just remembered. I, uh… need to make a call." The girls looked at me blankly, but Octavian nodded and passed along a cell phone to Felix.

"You can borrow mine," he offered.

"Right," I said, taking the iPhone. It's been so long since I held a phone, I almost forgot how to use it. But I still remembered how to make a call, and to the only number I had memorized.

"I'll be back," I said, hopping off my bunk and out the barracks without another word. My mouth went dry, and I haven't even begun talking. I looked around the camp. All around, exhausted kids walked by with their shoulders slumped. I guess the Fifth wasn't the only cohort who had drills. Still, there were so many people around I wouldn't get any privacy. There had to be somewhere quiet in camp.

After a few moments I made up my mind and headed for the principalis. Nobody ever went there except for the praetors, and they'd be too busy with their work that they wouldn't possibly notice one homesick demigod.

The building looked as scary as ever, and it was empty space all around me. Perfect. I took one last look in the area before heading to the back of the building. Even quieter. That didn't help calm my nerves. Planning the words I wanted to say didn't help either, so I decided to just roll with it. A few deep breaths, and I dialed in her number.

"Hello?" I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

"Hey Mom," I said. "It's Percy."

"Percy? Oh my gods, where have you been? I thought a monster got to you! I hoped you were going to be picked up by the – the wolves, but I was so afraid…"

"I'm fine," I said quickly. "I'm more than fine, actually, mom. I'm great. I'm in a camp right now. I don't think I should mention the details, but there are others like me. I – I feel like I belong here. I feel wanted. I was brought to the wolves somehow, and after a few months Lupa thought I was strong enough to make my own way here, and I think… I think I'm home. All that's missing is you."

"Oh, Percy," Mom sighed after a long pause. "I'm so happy that you're safe and even happier that you're happy. But you know I can't go where you go. We don't have enough– "

"We will," I blurted out. "There's a way – a legal way – for me to make enough money for you to come here with me and away from Smelly Gabe, and it'll be us against the world again."

"I know he's given you a hard time, but he is still your stepfather," my mom put in gently. She could make even Gabe sound like a good person. "And wherever it is you are – do you think a mortal can enter?"

"Yes," I almost shouted. "That's the beauty of this place. It's like a paradise. Demigod, mortal, ghost, god, everyone lives peacefully here. I can go to school, there's a college here, I think, and you can start writing that book you always wanted to!"

"That does sound perfect," my mom admitted. "But New York is our home, mine as much as yours. It's where I raised you. It's where I met – "she stopped talking.

My dad. My real dad, whoever – wherever he was. I didn't understand why he still meant so much to her. He left us alone with Gabe, in a tiny apartment in New York. What kind of god couldn't even love his family?

"I'm sorry, Percy," she whispered. "But don't worry about me. If you do want to make me happy, the best way to do that is to keep yourself happy. Because that's what I want."

"Well what I want is for you to follow your dreams," I countered. "So… so there."

She laughed. I missed that sound.

"Alright. I guess there is no changing your mind. Then do as I asked, Percy. Do what will make you happiest and safest."

"Okay. Okay, it'll take about a week, but I'll get enough money to bring you here. I promise," I said.

"Thank you, Percy." She sounded skeptical, like she was just humoring me. But she also sounded sad. I hated hearing her speak like that.

"For what?"

"For reminding me that you're the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you."

"I love you too." For once it didn't feel like something I had to say.

"Let me know how it goes. Call me again, every day if you can. Tell me all about your friends, your home, everything. And don't you forget that I'll always be here for you."

"Okay." I wasn't sure if I could manage to say anything more. "Okay."

"I love you, Percy. Talk to you soon." The line went dead. I sank to the ground and leaned against the wall. The stone felt cold against the back of my head.

My mom deserved better. I knew that. But she was right when she said that no matter what, New York was our home. As crazy as it could get, there was no replacing it. Though we couldn't pay rent without Gabe, and I knew that even a thousand denarii would run out eventually. That was the ugliest truth. So what do I do? The problem hurt my brain more than the training. It didn't help that a piece of the stonework cracked off the wall and fell onto my head.

I whipped around, thinking that someone had found me. What do I do? Then I realized I was still alone. So whose voice was I hearing?

"What's most important is protecting New Rome. If Saturn attacks, or if we attack and lose, then they're helpless. Our defenses take priority," someone stated. I recognized that voice. It came from the principalis. I looked up and sure enough, there was a small hole in the wall.

"We can't hold out forever," someone else said. "We need to move _now_. Hit them with the full force of the legion."

"The full force of the legion? A bunch of kids and teenagers. We're not ready for war."

"And neither are they. Right now, we outnumber them, but that'll change. We need to fight!"

"We aren't ready!"

They were both shouting now. It took me a while to recognize the voices because I didn't think it was possible for them to take that tone, but it was unmistakably the praetors. But I couldn't tell who was saying what.

"Fine. What will I have to do to convince you to take the offensive?"

"Recover the eagle."

"Come on, now," the other person scoffed.

"Or at least show me that the legion is ready. Show me that even our newest members can fight. Then I'll be convinced."

"Are you talking about that Percy Jackson kid?"

I strained to hear their conversation above my hammering heart.

"Yeah. If you can prove to me that even a scrawny twelve-year-old can be a legionnaire, then I'll agree with you."

"He's not just some kid. If the rumors are true… if he really did control the Little Tiber…"

"Then he's also the child of prophecy." That was the second time I heard that word. _Prophecy. _It sent chills down my spine and goosebumps on my arms. Where was all this coming from?

"Even better. He'll need to prove himself to me – to us – and we'll mobilize the legion together."

"Thank you. I'm sure I can – "

"He has to win the tournament."

"You're insane. He's just a kid!"

"And not a legionnaire?"

There was a long pause. I knew that whoever asked that last question just won the argument. I didn't know what to make of it yet.

"Alright! Alright. Fine. He'll do it. And when he does, we _will _find Saturn, send him back to Tartarus, and stop this war before it even begins."

I ran out and back to the barracks. A war? Saturn? Who was that? I didn't think it was a god. But what else could it be, to scare both the praetors so much?

All I knew was that I was going to have to join this tournament and win, no matter what. It's not just about the money anymore. The fate of the legion rested on my shoulders, and I didn't even know what was at stake.

I burst into our room. The others looked up sharply. Tired as they were, they could tell something was wrong.

"What happened?" Octavian asked. I told them everything. They all sat upright in their beds as I repeated what I heard.

"Saturn? What's that?" Felix asked. The girls just shrugged. We all turned to Octavian, whose face was scrunched up in a frown.

"It's an old story. The oldest story, I think. Before the gods – before Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, Titans ruled the earth. Their leader was Saturn, Lord of Time. He was the father of all the most powerful gods. They overthrew him and destroyed him eventually, but if he's starting to return… the whole world will change." He glared at me.

"What does it have to do with you?"

"I don't know," I said honestly.

"So the praetors aren't doing anything? They're letting the new kid decide the fate of the entire legion? And this Saturn person?" Vanessa demanded.

"I didn't ask for this," I snapped. "I just wanted to win the stupid tournament, so I can finally help my mom."

"Whatever the case, then you need to win. No matter what," Octavian said.

"It's true, isn't it? You're the guy from the prophecy," Alex stated. I didn't think she was asking.

"Okay, what prophecy? I keep hearing it – "

"A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze."

Octavian recited the words like a chant. The others shifted their feet and looked uncomfortable.

"We call it the Great Prophecy. It's one of our oldest. We're not supposed to talk about it, but word gets around. We didn't think that much of it, of course, because nobody has showed up who checked all the boxes. Until a few days ago." He leaned forward.

"I saw what you did with the Tiber. I know who you are. Who your father is. And now, I think, so does everyone else in this room," Octavian said quietly.

"I'll destroy Olympus? And die? I just got here! I don't even know how to fight properly! A cursed blade?"

"Prophecies get clearer over time. Usually just before they happen. And it says it'll happen when you're sixteen, so… we still have time," Octavian said.

"But you do need to win this tournament. And prove yourself to the praetors and the legion," Felix said. "Octavian knows the most about mythology here, but even I know the importance of prophecies. We need to be united to win, especially if we're up against the Titans. Never mind the praetors – if the legion doesn't like you, or doesn't trust you, then everything will fall apart. If you were the son of Jupiter it'd be so much easier. But at least you're not the son of Pluto."

"Still, Neptune isn't the most popular guy," Alex pointed out.

"We need that win. He has to be someone that the legion can depend on," Felix finished.

"Can you make a chariot?" Octavian asked. We all turned to Vanessa, who pursed her lips.

"In a week? I'd need a lot of time. I doubt we can even have a test run. I'd have to practically live in the workshop, and even then, it's going to take a lot of money."

"I'll handle that. Don't worry. Just get started," Octavian said.

Vanessa let out a hollow laugh. "Oh, I will. I have to start tonight."

"Good. Alex, can you teach Percy how to fight?"

"Me?" Alex sputtered. "Dakota's a lot better."

"In the Roman style, yeah. But nobody can beat you one on one," Octavian said.

"I'm not sure," Alex admitted. "If he's going to fight in front of everyone, he has to fight like a Roman. Nobody's going to like the way I do things."

Octavian sighed frustratedly, but he nodded all the same. "Okay. We'll have to ask Dakota to teach him."

"I'm right here, guys!"

"We need to get chosen somehow," Octavian continued, ignoring me while I fumed. "Only one team from each cohort can participate."

"I'll deal with that," Felix said shakily. "I can talk to our centurions."

Octavian nodded slowly. He clearly didn't like whatever Felix was implying, but he had no choice.

"Why are you guys doing all this?" I whispered. "I barely know you. I just moved in. Why do you trust me so much?"

"Because you're our friend," Alex said. "You need help, we help. It's that simple."

"Besides, who wouldn't want to build a kickass chariot?" Vanessa grinned.

"And it's not just about you," Felix added. "The whole legion will be affected. We need to attack soon, so we'll make sure you win. We owe the legion that much."

I didn't want to admit it, but I got misty eyed. Later I would say that sweat got into my eyes. Both of them. At the same time. Coincidentally. But I was just taken aback. I realized that I haven't had any real friends. This was my beginning.

"Good." Octavian grinned. "Let's get started."

Chapter 4

"This is impossible," Vanessa grumbled. She threw down her wrench onto the table. It felt like the whole building shook.


	4. Chapter 4

"This is impossible," Vanessa grumbled. She threw down her wrench onto the table. It felt like the whole building shook. I glanced around just in case. Sure enough, nothing so much as twitched.

We were in a massive room that functioned as both a DIY workshop and a forge. Power tools you would find in your garage mingled with molds for swords, spears, and armor. An enormous furnace took up most of the wall in the opposite side of the room. Even from where we were standing the heat was distracting. I thought I was going to die when I passed by it.

People from every cohort and even some residents of New Rome bustled in the workshop. They were of different ages, heights, genders, and builds, but they all had burned, burly arms and serious expressions. There were also a bunch of Lares, yelling at the forgers about how they used to work the metal in their day.

Vanessa was currently hunched over a table while me and the others stood in a loose ring around it. She was inspecting a complicated blueprint she had laid out while fiddling with some tools. The rest of us nodded sympathetically and pretended to understand. It looked like someone's notes from an ancient engineering lecture, with several other people's notes written on top of that. The only thing I could understand was the title: Invictus.

"It's never going to work," Vanessa continued. We looked at each other and waited for someone to talk.

"What do you mean?" Felix ventured.

"This. It's never going to hold all five of us. I can make some changes to fit four people at most. Pretty sure I can squeeze in more, but I don't want to deviate from the original design too much. This is one of the only prototypes we managed to salvage from Daedalus' works."

"That's fine," Octavian said. "Traditionally chariots can only hold two people. Four is a lot. Five is pushing it. Besides, it's not like we all need to ride."

"We have to decide from now," Vanessa declared. "I have to do damage control during the race. Percy has to go, obviously. Then we'll need Felix. That'll cover close- and long-range fighting." She eyed Octavian and Alex, who looked at each other.

"I'm a better fighter than Percy right now. And I can bring my own stuff into the mix, things that the other cohorts won't see coming," Alex offered.

"I can lead," Octavian said simply. Even Alex nodded at that.

"Keeping calm under pressure will be important," I agreed. "And besides, won't it look, you know, unorthodox? If we use your, uh, methods?"

"Right," Alex muttered.

"But that doesn't mean you'd be excluded," Octavian said slowly. "Sabotage is a big part of chariot racing. Usually determines the winner before it even begins."

"That's horrible," I said. Octavian just shrugged. "It's tradition. Part of the game. Look around if you don't believe me."

I saw that he was right. Even now people were looking over their shoulders to get a peek at our work. Guys from other cohorts stood to the side, just inside earshot, trying to pretend not to listen. A shiver went down my spine. The race had already begun.

"Sabotage. I can do that," Alex grinned. It was nice to see her cheerful again.

"Good, good," Vanessa nodded. "Because we're going to need all the help we're going to get. This thing isn't going to be like the other chariots. I think the Second and Third cohorts are going for light chariots, so they'll be fragile but fast. The First Cohort is going for a sort of hybrid with three people and a heavier chariot, but it'll still be quick. I don't know what the Fourth is doing. But the Invictus…"

She frowned and started pointing things out in the blueprint.

"We'll be a lot better armored, so we can focus on offense. We won't win just by focusing on racing. We're counting on the riders," she looked pointedly at me and Felix, "to be the deciding factor. This thing is pretty sick on its own, and I can add some of my own designs, but you two are the real weapons."

"I've been to plenty of races," Felix said. "Even those lightly armored ones can put up a hell of a fight. Maybe we should make ours lighter and take a rider off. I can sit this one out if you want."

"No," Vanessa said. "In those races, the light chariots bluff more than they actually fight. It's just a dance. If we hit them hard enough, they'll fall apart. I guarantee it."

We stayed quiet. I felt like there wasn't much discussion going on, but then again, Vanessa was our best and only expert. Still, I always tunnel vision when I have to make decisions by myself. Apparently, Octavian thought so too.

"Are you making this chariot for yourself, or for us?" he demanded. "I know you like making things that last, but it's called a race for a reason."

"I know that," Vanessa said patiently. "But that's just how I do things. I don't make things that break. Being strong is more important than being fast. We won't have to compete with anyone if their chariots are destroyed."

"And they won't have to compete with us if we fall behind. We only have a few moments at the beginning of the race to make a difference. After that, they _will _overtake us. Maybe even do extra laps ahead of us."

But Vanessa didn't budge. "This will work," she insisted. "It's not like we're that slow. Just in comparison." The others didn't look convinced. Obviously, they thought speed was more important. I did too. I had to force myself to remember who was in charge here.

"Do what you think is best, man," I said, rubbing her shoulder. "You're the expert here. And if you're better at making something strong than something fast, then I trust you can do it." She looked at me gratefully. The others pressed their lips but eventually nodded.

"Can we agree to let Vanessa run with the Invictus?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Felix said.

"Great. I can finally get to work. Now, Percy, I need you stay here for a while. I need to measure your height, weight, and reach. I'm already familiar with the others, so you guys can go," she said.

"Right. I'd better brush up on my archery. Maybe test out those flashbang arrows I keep hearing about, or those thermite ones…" Felix mumbled to himself as he walked away.

"I need to make sure that our sponsor will back us up," Octavian proclaimed. He left too.

"Well, _I_ need to make sure that our resident egghead doesn't run off with the chariot," Alex said, sitting on a table.

"Alex, get off. You need to be ready to hit the deck in a second. Lots of accidents here," Vanessa said as she reached for a measuring tape. I whipped my head around.

"Don't mind her," Alex said, swinging her feet. "It's fine! Nothing like that's happened here in, what, a few days?"

"It has been pretty quiet," she admitted.

"Is that normal?" I asked.

"Sure. There's always someone walking out of here in a cast or with a sling. They always come back, though," Alex said, rolling her eyes and twirling a finger next to her temple when Vanessa looked the other way.

"We're not crazy," Vanessa said without looking up. "We're just very driven. Mostly to the wrong direction." Somebody snorted at that. I turned to see who it was, but it could have been anyone in the crowd. I realized that people were keeping their distance from us. Still close enough to eavesdrop, but with room to spare. I felt like I was eating lunch alone at school.

"What's up with them? Did we do something?" I asked Alex. She smiled.

"It's not us. It's her," she said, jerking her thumb to Vanessa, who pushed the small of my back to get me to straighten and started taking measurements. I don't get why she would need it to be so detailed, but hey, I'm not the son of the tape measuring god.

"Something wrong? I can talk to those guys if you want," I offered. Vanessa smiled. Alex laughed.

"Thanks, Percy, but no. You can't do much."

Ouch.

"It's always been this way. People here are just too stuck-up and love their history a little too much." She almost shouted that last part. More people shot her dark looks. She ignored them and started muttering, low enough that only me and Alex could hear her.

"I've always loved machines. If it's made of metal, chances are I've made it before. But automatons are my favorite. They're the most versatile, the most elegant, the most beautiful – "

"And the most likely to kill you," Alex added cheerfully. "At least with exploding arrows, you can prepare for it to go wrong. But automatons always go haywire when you least expect it and in the worst possible way. Just look at the praetor's dogs."

I thought back to when I first came here. "Those statues?"

"Statues?" Vanessa breathed. I gulped.

"Those _statues, _as you put it," she said carefully, "are some of Vulcan's greatest creations. The protect their owner from deceit and danger. They're the ideal automaton."

"They looked like statues to me," I said. For a second, I thought Vanessa was going to punch me. Alex held her breath, her eyes moving between us like we were a tennis match. Then Vanessa sighed and slumped her shoulders.

"Honestly, that's what they are now. Nothing but big paperweights. If they were activated, though, they embody everything good about the automaton. But with those two as praetors – "

"Careful," Alex warned. The discreet stares we were getting turned hateful. My hand twitched to the coin.

"Right, sorry," Vanessa muttered. She drew the tape all the way to my neck and whispered in my ear. "They say that the dogs only activate when the praetors are worthy. I heard that they used to work a few months ago, but lately they've been… asleep."

She took a step back, recorded something in a notebook. "It's not that Marcus and Jules are bad people. Or even bad leaders. They just need to make up their minds for once. I'm counting on you to get that done." Vanessa tied her hair back in a ponytail. It made her eyes pop out against her dark skin, which reminded me of a coffee table.

"Anyway. I think that's okay. Machines should only be used by people who deserve them. But even I can admit that automatons are really picky. If we used some newer technology, that wouldn't happen. Can you imagine?" She stepped closer, with a crazed look in her eye.

"Modern technology and magic, working together. They can achieve do what neither can accomplish on their own. Vulcan understood the potential. Daedalus did too. All the great inventors do. But they were old fashioned. Their idea of modern technology is nuts and bolts. But what if we used computers? Artificial intelligence?"

"Vanessa," Alex muttered. Vanessa clamped her mouth shut. I didn't need to turn to know that we had all eyes in the workshop.

"These people don't see it. Nobody sees it. They want to save our past, to do the same things in different ways. They don't see that our future depends on how we use the present. That's how I see it." Vanessa shook her head sadly. I couldn't help but agree, and wonder. Technology and magic… the possibilities were endless.

"Now come on," she said, pulling Alex off the table. "There's some stuff you should see." She led us to a different section of the workshop. The building was divided into two: the workshop and the forge. The workshop was further divided into two areas: the clean part that we just left had a lot of big tables and blueprints and rulers and compasses and markers and all that, organized into boxes and containers labeled with Sharpies. The grosser part that we were headed for looked like the testing area. Shelves leaned against the walls, and on the racks, there were hundreds of gadgets and contraptions that looked like they were from a video game. It was a chaotic mess. They spilled out of the shelves and crowded the floor, and we had to be careful where we stepped. It wasn't hard avoiding some of them since they were enormous, but there were a few that were the size of marbles. The walls themselves were blackened with soot from what I assumed must be explosions. I wouldn't be surprised.

"Right. I wanted to do this with everybody else, but I need to get started with this right now or we'll never get it done. What weapons are you going to use in the race?" she asked.

I balked. "Uh, I don't know, swords? I think?" The girls shared a look.

"Percy," Alex said, speaking like she was talking to a baby. "Swords aren't going to be much use unless you plan to jump onto an enemy's moving chariot. We're going to use arrows, bombs, nails, spears, paintballs – anything that can be used at a distance."

Okay. That made a lot of sense. I felt stupid for not thinking about it earlier.

"Right. I know that."

"Well if you're so fixated on swords, then you might as well bring yours during the race. Who knows, maybe someone will try to board us. Wouldn't be impossible. Anyway, I was thinking of including tanks of water, since, you know…"

My ears turned red. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I've never used it on other people before, and I'm not sure if I can even control it. I just aim and shoot." Vanessa's eyes hardened. I guess she was disappointed that things didn't go to plan. Alex jumped in.

"And besides, it's just going to be so heavy, right? We're slow enough as is, we don't want to get weighed down any more."

Vanessa seemed to consider that for a moment. "You're probably right. In that case…" she continued to mutter to herself as she dove into the pile of junk on the floor.

"Thanks," I said. Alex just smiled.

"Don't mention it. She just gets really focused, a little too focused, when she gets in the zone. You'll get used to it eventually." Just then Vanessa came up, holding what looked like one of those floating mines in Finding Nemo, but the size of an apple. It was made of bronze with blunt metal spikes coming out of it.

"A grenade?" Alex asked, snatching it from Vanessa. Her clever fingers darted across every surface. "I'm guessing the spikes are pressure sensitive?" I took a step back immediately.

"Something like that. But instead of exploding, it pulls in everything metallic, like a reverse grenade."

"That's awesome," I said, holding it gingery in my hands. It was surprising heavy.

"What would it do to a chariot's axle?" Alex asked. She went for a casual tone, but Vanessa started to slowly grin.

"This." She took it back and threw it at the ground. Immediately, everything in a five-foot radius flew into the ball. Sharp pains exploded on my back as the things laying on the table flew to the air. The experiments behind Vanessa swept her legs and she fell on her butt. Alex had dived away.

"That was amazing!" I said, though my back disagreed. I could already feel the bruises forming. Where the ball was a second ago there was a smaller pile of junk. It reached up to my waist.

"I know right!" Vanessa looked like a kid on Christmas. "It's not that strong, so it won't warp the metal or anything. I thought we could disarm the other riders. But Alex, I like the way you think."

"Thanks, I do too. Can you make four more of those?" Alex looked untouched. Everyone else in the room didn't react to the commotion. I guess things like that happen all the time.

"I'd rather not. Then we wouldn't have a race at all. And sabotage is okay only if you don't get caught. It'll be way too obvious. I'd say two at most," Vanessa explained. It made sense. I got really excited for a second when Alex brought it up, but Vanessa had a point. I hated common sense.

"I'll still make more of them for the actual race, though, don't worry. Now onto everything else."

We must have gone on for hours. Vanessa pulled out more accidents just waiting to happen. There was a hydra arrow, which was a big grappling hook attached to an arrow. Alex brought up the nastier stuff – Greek fire, big nails meant to stop horses called caltrops, and toxic fumes stored in snow globes. Vanessa glared at her.

"These things are the classics!" Alex complained.

"We can't use them for racing," Vanessa chided. "We're not trying to kill the other guys. Besides, the only rule in chariot racing is that we don't hurt the horses. Everything else is game, but the horses should never get injured."

"That makes sense," I nodded. "It's not like the horses asked to be there."

"What, are you the horse whisperer too?" Alex snorted.

"Hey, man, they're just animals. It'd be like hurting someone's dog." She finally put them down after I said that. I swore she pocketed a snow globe though.

We settled for the PG version of Alex's choices: flashbangs, stink bombs, and grease. I felt confident with that lineup. The other two weren't.

"It's not enough," Alex muttered, tapping a finger to her lips.

"Looks fine to me," I shrugged. Vanessa shook her head.

"No, she's right. We can slow down the riders, but we need to break their chariots. The oil can make them spin out of control, though the chances of that happening is slim. We need something bigger." Vanessa kept thinking while Alex rummaged through the mess. I just stood there holding the stuff we picked out. Then I noticed that Alex was avoiding the very corner of the room. She would dive straight to the bottom of the junk, but the corner was left untouched. There was a hand vacuum cleaner, a thermos, and a flashlight, each of them on their own rack. There was a big empty space between them and the other experiments. They looked like stuff I could dig up in my room. Seemed alright to me. I dropped everything on the table and moved to pick up the thermos.

"What's all this stuff?" I grabbed the top and was about to unscrew it, until I heard something blow by me like a dodgeball. I turned and saw a knife quivering in the wall.

"Percy," Alex said slowly. "Put the thermos down."

"You almost hit me!"

"It was just to get your attention. I wouldn't miss. Probably."

"Put it down, Percy," Vanessa said. I gingerly put it down.

"What is it?" I breathed.

"A failed experiment." Vanessa didn't continue. Alex did.

"It was a long time ago, back when a lot of people could do magic. The people at camp were getting frustrated with the powers of monsters they had to deal with, so they decided to use them against their own kind. They trapped some of the worst nasties you'll ever see into containers. Most of them failed and broke out. A lot of people died."

"They worked, sort of," Vanessa sighed. "But now we're too scared to use them. We barely managed to change their containers and move them into stronger prisons. The thermos you're holding is home to a bunch of _venti. _No, not coffee," she said when I opened my mouth. I hated that she knew I was going to say something stupid.

"Wind spirits. Old, powerful, and very, very angry. It was meant to just release big gusts of wind, but the monsters themselves could jump out, supposedly. They can only be killed if they get surprised or by the children of Jupiter. But nobody's seen wild _venti _for years, thank the gods."

"I did hear rumors that you can still find some in New York," Alex added. "That place is infested by monsters. We all avoid it."

"Why would New York have monsters?" I asked.

"It's where the gods are strongest. Monsters are attracted to that kind of power. You know that Mount Olympus is in the Empire State Building right?"

"Um…"

"Well, it's good that you know now," Vanessa said as Alex rolled her eyes. "We don't go there. Ever. Too dangerous for us. But yeah, that thermos can make a hurricane if you're not careful. The vacuum shoots flame from the bulls of Colchis, supposedly hotter than Greek fire. The flashlight is said to hold hellhounds."

"How is that supposed to help?"

"It's designed to use their shadows as a smokescreen. You know, like a squid with ink."

"That's cool," I said. She nodded. "It's awesome. But dangerous. We only keep them for life or death scenarios. I still don't understand why they're kept here. They can blow up any time."

_Better here than anywhere else, _I thought privately. I guess I know what the praetors think of the workshop now. I kept that to myself.

"We should use them," was what I said instead.

"What? I just told you, we only _think _of using them in life or death – "

"Doesn't this qualify?" I asked quietly. They didn't respond to that.

"He's right," Alex said finally. "We have to take risks."

"Risks? We want to damage the chariots, not the whole arena! People could get killed!" Vanessa said.

"But they'll die for sure if Percy loses."

There was a long silence. I felt every second piling on my shoulders, adding to the pressure that was already there. Maybe I was making a horrible decision. Why should people trust me so much? Just a few months ago my biggest worry was turning in my homework on time. Now we were talking about people's lives.

"Fine," Vanessa said. She took the thermos from me and placed it back on the shelf. "We don't need to let anyone else know about this until gameday. I doubt they'd take it seriously anyway. Nobody would be stupid enough to use this thing."

"We definitely can't practice with it. We don't even know what it really does. So only use it when you need to – and even then, just open it by a tiny crack. We don't want a hurricane in the middle of camp," Alex finished.

"Got it." I nodded. That made me feel better somehow. The silence was filled with my friends' voices. The pressure was still enormous, but I didn't feel alone anymore. That would have to be enough.

Over the next few hours we went over the more boring things like how much plate armor we should use and when we could practice with the horses. Again, I just smiled and nodded along. We agreed that Vanessa should be the one who picked the horses since none of us would know what we were doing. I've never even seen a horse in real life. Would probably be out of my depth.

"Right. That's settled. Now let's go over it one more time…" Vanessa continued her rambling. She looked like she was a monologuing actor, it was kind of impressive.

"Percy," Alex said from the corner of her lips. I gave her a sidelong glance. "I'm going to check out the other chariots tonight. They're usually kept in the arena – the circus maximus – right up until the actual race to make sure they're not tampered with. I could use an extra hand."

"You want me to come with you?"

"No, I'm just telling you this because I felt like it."

"Oh. Well, thanks for telling me."

"You are literally too stupid for sarcasm," she sighed. "Yes, I want you to come. Vanessa will be busy, and Felix isn't really cut out for this kind of thing."

"What about Octavian? I'm pretty sure he can talk his way out of anything," I suggested.

"No. He'd take it too far. And there's something about him… Just no. I'm not okay if he tagged along. You're better in a fight. And I have a feeling this isn't the first time you've done something irresponsible," she added.

A lifetime of detention flashed before my eyes.

"You got me there."

"Great," she grinned. "Don't wear anything bright, bring your coin, and I'll meet you in the Via Principalis."

"The what?"

"The big road that connects Camp Jupiter with New Rome," she explained.

"Right, right. Wait, wouldn't that mean we'd have to cross the Pomerian Line? Wouldn't Terminus stop us?"

"Well he will, but if we just explain the situation, he should let us through."

"But he's a god!"

"A Roman god. Competition is part of our culture."

"So we just need to tell him the truth?" I asked.

"Pretty much," she shrugged. "As long as we don't hurt anybody directly. I've even heard that he would sometimes allow that, if you tell him everything and he approves. Why do you think he let Julius Caesar get assassinated? He says some of the gods still hate him for that."

"No, I mean the whole truth. Including what we know about – "

"Not out loud," Alex hissed. I resisted the urge to turn around. Her eyes darted to people behind me. When she was satisfied she continued talking.

"I don't know, Percy," she sighed. "Gods aren't rational creatures. They're not even remotely human, you have to remember that. It's just the shape they take."

"You say that like you've met them," I said quietly. "And I'm not talking about Terminus."

Her mouth clamped shut. I guess I hit a sore point.

"Alex?"

"Whatever. That's – that's beside the point. I guess telling Terminus won't hurt. Let's do that. I'll see you there." She turned on her heel and rushed out.

"Hey, wait!" I called out. She didn't even look back.

"You gotta give her space," Vanessa said as she grabbed my shoulder when I tried to chase after her.

"You heard us?"

"I'm distracted, not deaf. We don't really talk about it that much. I mean, sure, we all have our reasons to resent our godly parents or grandparents. But Alex hates them with a passion. It's personal with her. And she never explained why."

"I'll help her," I said. "Whatever it is, we can talk it out."

"You're a good guy, Percy," Vanessa decided. "But you should know when to stop. You can't help some people because they don't want to be helped. You can't be everybody's hero."

"I have to be. With the prophecy – "

"It said Olympus needed saving. We're not gods, dude. We don't need other people to fight for us. Or do you think she's not strong enough?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"It's not what you intend, but it's what you're doing. Look – whenever I get frustrated and say that I want to beat up the praetors, I don't actually go and do it. I usually just need someone to talk to, and usually that's Alex. If you can get her to vent, that'll help more than you think. But don't try to fix the problem, because you can't. She has to fix it herself."

"I feel like I should be paying you for this therapy session," I mumbled.

"I've just had a lot of time to think about how I'd solve this problem, is all," she said with a smile. "I think it'll work. I could never get her to talk about it myself. I don't really hate the gods that much, to be honest. Octavian isn't really someone you go to for this kind of thing, and Felix will probably just tell her to cheer up. Maybe you can get through."

I nodded. I didn't see how I could. That doesn't mean I wouldn't try. I wasn't sure if that would make it better or worse.

"You don't feel the same? About the gods?"

She shook her head. "I mean, if I wasn't a legacy, I'd probably be stuck in some middle school in San Francisco, bored out of my mind and restless. I feel like I belong here. And if the gods can help make this – "she waved her hand around. "Then I don't think they're so bad. I don't know. I just don't have reason to hate them. Anyway. Back to what I can actually do something about." She turned and continued talking to herself. Something about nuts and bolts and pistons and gears. I tuned it out.

"Oh, and shouldn't you be somewhere?" she asked.

I blanked. "I thought we were supposed to do it tonight? The thing?"

"I meant training with Dakota, dummy. Isn't it like 4 o'clock already?"

I cursed and ran to the door. It was bad enough that I had to bother Dakota with teaching me. I didn't want to show up late to the first day of the lessons.

Vanessa was right, of course. The sun was already starting to set on a sky that was turning purple. Campers milled around, sweaty from whatever activities they had today. I'd been told that since it was still summer vacation they had to do legion training. Once school started, we'd start to have free time. Of course, that time would be taken up by homework, but what else is new.

Luckily, I reached the sparring pit on time. Though I was red-faced and panting. Running from the workshop to the pit will do that to you. Dakota showed up just when I was beginning to catch my breath.

"Look at you, Percy! Already doing your warmups! I like it!" he said in his trademark Dracula grin. Dakota was wearing a tank top and shorts. He was carrying a gladius in a battered leather scabbard that looked like it had seen some actual use, unlike the polished swords in the armory. Clearly, he expected a workout, which made me nervous. I thought it would be more like my first sparring session. He looked like he was going to make me do deadlifts.

"Now, I understand that you're going to participate in the Bellator Torneamentum. I like the enthusiasm, but I need to ask you. Are you sure you want in? I'm not exaggerating when I say that people die trying to win."

"I thought it was supposed to be non-lethal," I managed to say.

"Accidents happen," he said with air quotes. "Some people take these things way too seriously. Are you willing to take that risk?"

Of course not. But I nodded anyway.

"Yeah. I'm going to do it, no matter what," I said, putting on a brave face.

"Good. Well, then. Normally I'd teach people the basics and start from there. But the gladiator fights are a bit less organized. You choose a weapon you like, put on as much armor as you want, and step into the colosseum, so it's best to just do whatever it is you're already good at. You win if the other guy surrenders or dies. The top two teams from the chariot race choose a member each, and they duel. That's really just the opening fight, you know, to warm up the crowd and whatnot. Winner takes on the defending champion. Now that's the fight people pay to watch."

"Who's the champion?"

"Jules," Dakota said reverently. I felt like my stomach dropped to the soles of my feet. Winning a chariot race suddenly sounded a lot more realistic. At least I would have my friends with me. One on one with a praetor was something else. I thought back to when I first met Jules. Curly hair, dark eyes, and arms as long and sturdy as a pilum. This was insane.

"I'm going to have fight him?" I squeaked.

"Yup. He's the best swordsman I've ever seen. I once saw him take on three centurions at once and won. Fought a dragon alone – alone! – and lived to tell the tale without so much as a scratch on him. Dude's a living legend. He's guaranteed to go down in the history of Rome."

"And you expect me," I waved my stick arms around, "to fight that guy?"

"Hey, man," Dakota shrugged. "You took me by surprise and almost cut off a toe. You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for. And if we train every day from now until the tournament, you might be able to use the element of surprise and turn it into a victory."

"Thanks for doing this, man," I said. I reached into my pocket and fished out the coin. "I really owe you one."

"Don't mention it. Honestly, I don't really give private lessons like this. If you were the one who asked me instead of Felix, I would have turned you down."

"What's so special about Felix?" I asked, flipping the coin and grabbing my gladius.

"Oh man," he sighed in response as he drew his own gladius. "I keep forgetting that you're new." He lunged with his sword before I could respond. We let the swords do the talking after that.

I wasn't wrong when I thought he was going to push me even harder than normal legion training. I didn't even know that was possible. There must be some kind of convention to prevent this kind of thing. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Demigods. I thought that would be a hit.

By the time Dakota was finished with me I had collapsed spread-eagle on the ground. I could barely lift my arms. Dakota said something about calling it a day, and I could only respond with grunts. He laughed and wandered off back into camp, leaving me with a lot on my mind and way too much time to think. The big fight was worrying me. The chariot race was worrying me. For some reason though, I kept coming back to what Dakota had said about Felix. He seemed like a nice dude. A little shy, but nice. I couldn't imagine him keeping secrets of any kind. But I was too tired to think about that too.

When the feeling came back to my limbs, I inched towards the barracks to take a shower and a nap. The thin mattress never felt so good. I was just starting to drift off into wonderland, but then something shook me awake.

"Percy!" someone called out.

"Mmm. Go away. I'm busy dying." I pushed at the direction of the voice. Something snapped closed on my wrist. I thought I just got handcuffed. My eyes snapped open and a very angry Alex was glaring at me from the corner of my bed.

"Alex!" I whispered loudly. A quick look around, and I saw that the others were already asleep like normal people. Then I remembered the plan.

"I'm so – "

"It's fine," she grumbled. "It's not like I had to wait for half an hour alone at night on the Pomerian Line. Definitely not. Because my friend wouldn't ditch me like that."

"I said I was sorry," I mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. Just put on some clothes and we can get on with this. And by the way," she added.

"What?"

"You drool when you sleep."

My face was red all the way through getting dressed.

When I got outside the whole camp was asleep. The lights and torches lining some of the walls were the only reason I could see in front me. There wasn't a single star in the sky. Alex was sitting on one of the dining tables and got up when she saw me. I could see that she was dressed all in black, from her windbreaker to her sneakers. I tried to go for the same look. It didn't really work with a purple t-shirt.

She gave me a once-over and together we made our way to New Rome. Now that we were next to each other I could see that she had a small bag hidden beneath her jacket. We didn't talk along the way, and there was nobody to disturb us. It was that hour of night that was too late for the night owls and too early for the early birds. She'd done this before for sure.

"So, uh… what're we going to do, exactly?" I tried.

"We're going to win you the tournament and save Camp Jupiter by sticking these things inside some chariots."

"But how does that work? Wouldn't they notice a metal ball strapped on their chariot?"

"Not if we put it inside the axle itself. They're hollow in the middle, and I can cut them open with an Imperial gold knife. Nobody would think to check there. Once it starts to really move, it'll trigger, and the little wheel pins will get jostled. It's like unscrewing a pepper shaker right before someone uses it," she explained when she saw my expression. "It'll come loose. If we're lucky, we might even get the suspension beam to move around a bit."

"This still feels wrong," I complained. "I feel like if I'm going to win, I should win fair and square."

"This _is _fair and square," Alex insisted. "It's just how we do things. You can expect that something will be off with our own chariot later. Part of the game."

I still had doubts. I've struggled in my life, sure, but I never stooped to cheating. That would break my mom's heart, knowing that her son was a loser and a cheater. I was all about breaking rules to have fun. Breaking them to satisfy myself was different.

Despite my thoughts I still went through without a word. After a few minutes we reached the Pomerian Line. Giving each other one last look, we took a single step forward and waited. Sure enough, a pop crackled into the air and the floating god showed up.

"What is this? Campers bringing weapons into New Rome in the dead of night? The very same campers who have joined the Torneamentum earlier today? I sense a scheme! Alex! Not too surprised to see you again. And if it isn't Mr. Rule Flouter himself! Can't say I'm surprised about you either. Now explain why I shouldn't send you and your weapons to the bottom of the Little Tiber?"

"The what?" I frowned.

"The enormous river that's surrounding the camp, Rule Flouter," Terminus scoffed. "Honestly, you would think that the son of Neptune would know better."

My jaw dropped. I could almost hear Alex's hit the ground beside me.

"I'm not – "

"Oh, sure, sure," Terminus said, rolling his eyes. "Kids of the Big Three. Always with the false modesty."

"Right, Percy has been meaning to tell you," Alex interrupted, giving me a let-me-do-the-talking look. "He's just never found the time. Look, Terminus, we're going to the circus maximus to, you know, _inspect_ the other chariots. We swear not to harm anyone or use weapons."

"And yet you're bringing quite a few contraptions with you. And more traditional weapons." He squinted at my pocket where I kept the coin and at Alex's hip, where I assumed she hid an Imperial gold knife.

"We're not doing anything with them except for self-defense," Alex promised. "Besides, the things we're going to stick into their chariots are only going to work in the actual race, when all bets are off. Technically, we're not breaking any rules."

"I do like technicalities," Terminus nodded. He got a far-off look on his face. I realized that he was probably rubbing his chin. Or imagining he was.

"Alright. Fine. But I'm keeping an eye on you. If you so much as think about breaking the rules – or worse, your promise – I'll be there. And I won't be bargaining."

"Thank you, Terminus," Alex said while bowing deeply. I did the same.

"One last thing," I blurted out. "I think you should know why we're doing this. Why we joined the bell tournament or whatever."

"The thousand denarii?"

"No. Well… yes. But that's more like a happy side effect. The real reason we're doing this is because of Saturn." I explained everything to him. It sounded more and more ridiculous as I continued. It didn't help that Terminus's expression got darker and darker. He wasn't just frowning – the shade of his marble turned almost black.

"I see."

"We were hoping that you could warn the gods," I mentioned lamely.

"If you people know about it, the gods do too," he said dismissively.

"'You people'?"

"The Olympians will know if something as big as his return is coming. Diana would sense it, the Big Three would feel it, Minerva would know it, and Apollo would have foreseen it. They know. They're probably just in denial. But the lesser gods…" he shook his head. The god actually looked worried.

"I'll start sending messages, try to reach old friends. They deserve fair warning."

"Alright. Cool. So does that mean we'll have gods in the fight?"

"In the fight? Definitely. I just can't guarantee which side of the fight."

"What do you mean?"

"The gods are immortal, Perseus Jackson, and so are our grudges. Win the Torneamentum. Gods know we'll all need it." He vanished with a smaller pop.

"That went well," I said.

"He didn't disintegrate us, so yeah, I think so too." Alex trudged on like nothing happened.

"Hey, man. About what I said in the workshop – "

"It's fine, Percy. Forget about it."

"No, I don't want to. And I don't think you should either."

"What does that mean?" she snapped. I held up my hands defensively.

"Nothing, nothing. I just think that you shouldn't keep it to yourself. You should, like, talk to someone about it." Man, I'm so bad at this. Why did Vanessa think I could do it?

"It's fine," she repeated flatly. I dropped the subject.

The city looked like a different place at night. Without sunlight to glint off the marble, it all just felt cold.

Eventually we reached what I assumed was the chariot racing arena. It looked like a longer, flatter colosseum about the size of a football stadium that had been stretched out and capped with a hat, kind of like a hot dog after you took a bite. The place was silent except for a few torches burning and the wind whispering through the arches.

"Come on. Let's break into the circus maximus," Alex whispered. I could finally hear that mischief in her voice again. That cheered me up a little bit.

We snuck inside. Well it wasn't really sneaking, because there weren't any doors or guards. We just sort of walked in. The place was even scarier when you enter it. A long race track stretched through the length of the building. Stands lined the arena. On the far end, there was a big balcony overlooking the whole place. The Roman VIP box, I assumed. I could imagine people lining the seats, chatting with friends, eating pretzels, and complaining about the heat. I could almost see the fanatics with face paint screaming at the ringside seats and waving flags around. It would be amazing on gameday, as long as you weren't a child of prophecy in over his head.

"The real guard will be through here. Nobody really watches the circus maximus itself. People sneak in here all the time to make out and whatever. We keep all the valuables underground. This way."

We were in the arena underneath all the stands. They were raised on towering walls of marble. In the dark, I thought they were featureless, but as Alex brought us closer I could see that there were depressions on them. When we got even closer I realized they were like statues carved into the stone. I would have to step back to take it all in. I didn't get the chance. We arrived at a huge set of wooden doors roughly in the middle of the arena.

"Keep watch," she whispered, pulling out a set of metal pins and rods from her pockets. Alex crouched in front of the lock and started picking it. I jumped to the task she gave me, straining my eyes for any sign of trouble. After a few minutes, though, it was clear that we were alone.

"Are you done yet?"

"Quiet," she mumbled. "I need to focus. This takes time."

We must have stood out there for a solid five minutes. Hopefully the dark provided enough cover, because between my hyperactive foot tapping and Alex's cursing we would have woken up everyone in our barracks if we were back in our rooms.

Finally, there was a satisfying click and a sigh of relief. I turned and saw Alex already getting up, pocketing her lockpicks and grinning. "There we go. Now this next part is the most dangerous. There's usually nobody inside, except for a single guard. I'm not sure who's on duty now, but Dakota's shift should be coming up soon. Even though he's not stupid, the ADHD and boredom gets the better of him sometimes. He should be easier to distract than whoever's inside. We need to get in and wait."

We shoved the door open together. It was like trying to push a wall. Luckily, Roman architecture is impressive, and it was totally silent. The only sounds were us huffing and puffing. We closed it and Alex spun to lock the doors again.

"So he won't get suspicious," she explained.

"And if we need to make a getaway?" I asked.

"You did bring your coin, right?"

I grumbled and tried not to yawn. The room we were in didn't have much better lighting than the outside. It was a massive chamber with a bunch of columns where the torches hung. I could see a bunch of crates, boxes, chests, and cages scattered around the room. I could see torches extending in the opposite end of where we were standing right now. There must be a corridor that led to who knows where.

When she was finished she tugged on my sleeve. We tiptoed to the side of the room. Alex sat cross-legged behind a large crate and pulled out her phone. I knelt beside her and waited for instructions. Then I saw that she was playing Angry Birds.

"What're you doing?" I whispered.

"We're waiting for Dakota, remember? I think he's only going to show up in about 30 minutes or so. Didn't I ask you to bring a book or something?"

"No, you didn't. And I'm dyslexic!"

"We all are, buddy," she said. I thought her lips almost cracked into a smile as she continued playing. I grumbled again and sat down. I found myself thinking of ways of getting her to talk. Nothing came to mind. Then she put her phone away.

"Ran out of juice?" I asked.

"Not yet. I'm saving it for later."

"For what?"

"You never know," she shrugged.

We sat there in even more awkward silence. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

"What did they do to you?" I blurted out. She frowned.

"What?"

"What did they do to make them hate you so much?"

"Are you talking about yourself?"

"You know what I'm saying," I said.

She just shrugged. "Nothing."

"It can't be nothing," I said. "Vanessa was right. Nobody here likes the gods, not even Terminus. But nobody hates them like you do."

"Vanessa talked to you about it?" she asked darkly. I bit my lip. Stupid. I didn't mean to bring her into this.

"No, she's got nothing to do with this. And you're not answering me," I tried to change the subject.

"Yeah. I know." I fumed and forced myself to calm down. I don't even know why I wanted to help her so badly. Maybe it's because she was like me, looking for a father who was never there. Maybe I just didn't want my friends to be upset. How will I save the world if I can't even help one of my first friends?

"My dad wasn't around," I said. "He left me and my mom. Now we have to put up with some guy called Gabe Ugliano. His name is actually 'Ugliano', can you believe that?" I scoffed. She smiled a little. I went on.

"I just called him Smelly Gabe. I hate him, but I know we can't pay rent without him. Still, he's a terrible person. He fights with my mom every day, tells her to do everything by herself, and I couldn't deal with that. The only reason I haven't run away is because I know it'll break her heart again. But I can't stand seeing him or seeing her sad. And even through all of that she still loves my dad. My real dad."

I never said that out loud to anyone before. Vanessa was right. A big weight lifted off my chest. Nervousness replaced it as I glanced at Alex to see her reaction. She was still as a statue.

"Do you expect me to just tell you everything too?" she said.

"Yeah," I said.

"Why?"

"Because I think you want to," I said. It was a gamble. Either she would never talk to me again or I'd come through. For a long time, I thought she was going to stay silent. Her dark hair blended in with the shadows, but her brown eyes shone with sadness like a bar of chocolate that was about to break. She looked at me for a long time. Then she started speaking.

"I never knew my dad either. I lived alone for a while. Foster homes. I started seeing monsters when I was six. I started fighting back when I was eight. One of them told me what I really was. Every day since then, I waited for him to come."

"Every time you were in trouble," I guessed. "But mostly when you did something you were proud of."

She pursed her lips.

"Yeah. You get it. But unlike you, I didn't have any responsibility. I had nothing. So I wanted to get back at him."

"To a god?" I asked. The idea sounded so impossible it took me a second to wrap my head around it.

"Yeah. I always had fast hands. And believe me, I had plenty of practice. I decided to take something, something important – not just to Mercury, but to all the gods. I went to the Garden of the Hesperides."

"Going to a garden will upset the gods? Are we talking about the same gods here?"

"The Hesperides guard the real treasure. The Golden Apples of Immortality. One bite, and you'll live forever. Imagine that. A mortal getting the gods' greatest gift, all by herself."

"And are you immortal now?"

"No." She squeezed her eyes shut like she was going to get an injection and didn't want to look at the needle.

"Look, if it's too much, you don't have to – "

"I thought it was going to be easy," she said. Her voice trembled. "Plucking an apple from a tree guarded by a bunch of immortal girls? I thought I could just sneak in and grab one. I didn't research the myth completely. I didn't know there was another guardian."

Her eyes opened. I've never seen someone so afraid. "There was a dragon, Percy. A hundred-head dragon, the scariest thing I ever saw, staring right at me. I would have died if he wasn't there."

"Your dad?"

"He saved me. He told the Hesperides to never mention me to anyone. Then he walked me out of there." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again. Her eyebrows kept twitching together. I had a feeling she was seeing that dragon again.

"Did he come to save you? Did he even recognize you?" I whispered. My voice cracked. I didn't realize how much the questions meant to me. They were one of my biggest fears.

"He was just stopping by," she whispered. "It was just a coincidence. But he did recognize me. He said… he said he knows all his children. I could understand why my mom would love him. He was powerful, confident, charming, funny. But always strained, like he was trying to be everywhere at once. Then I started screaming at him. Told him… told him everything. I told him how much I hated him, asked him where he'd been all my life, and if I meant anything to him. But mostly _why_. Why he couldn't love me. I just wanted to have parents."

She drew her knees into her chest and held them. Alex was a badass knife-fighting thief. But most of all, she was a twelve-year-old girl. I stared at the patch of floor in front of me. She deserved some privacy. I thought that talking it out would help me, too. The fear in my heart just got bigger after hearing her story.

"After that, he told me that he loved me, but that he was very busy and had to go. He flew away on his ridiculous sandals. I never saw him again. A few years later I woke up in the Wolf House. And now I'm sitting here, telling my biggest secret to some dummy I just met."

"Hey, I might be a dumb, but at least I'm not a god." She actually laughed at that. I plucked up the courage to look at Alex. Her eyes were red but dry and she had a crooked smile.

"Thanks, Percy. You were right. It did help."

"Thank Vanessa. She was the one who told me what to do."

"I thought she had nothing to do with this."

"Uh…"

Alex just chuckled. "That girl. Always thinks she's not good enough with words. If she had the confidence, I think she'd be better with people than with machines."

"Yeah, she's great," I said. "So does this mean you're not going to kill her?"

"Oh, of course I will. And you too, right after all this has settled down. I'm still me, don't worry."

I had to laugh at that.

"I was starting to think that you were turning into a cry baby."

"Hey, I'm not the one who had to sneak out in the middle of the night to call my mom."

"At least I don't do stupid things to get my parents' attention."

She was smiling when she punched me in the arm. It hurt. But I finally felt like an invisible wall had fallen between us. Not just one that she had made for me. It was something that kept everyone at arm's length. I think things will get better.

Just then I heard metal clink against. My head whipped to Alex. Her eyes widened, and she laid flat on the floor. I did the same and tried to ignore the prickly asphalt. A lock turned. I held my breath.

Dakota walked into the room. I could tell it was him because of his humming, finger drumming, and too-fast footsteps. It didn't take him long to leave the room and disappear down the hallway. I moved to stand and felt Alex grab my arm and pull me down again.

"Wait," she hissed. "The other guy is gonna go out through here."

I cursed and pressed my cheek to the ground again. I felt more than heard footsteps echoing in the distance. And something else. A sound like when I turn on the shower or use a sink. While I was trying to think of what that meant, another set of footsteps sounded through the room. I held my breath again and waited for whoever it was to leave the place. This time, I looked at Alex for approval before standing. See? I can learn.

She nodded after a few minutes of tension. We got up slowly.

"Alright," she whispered. "We're going to move in and distract Dakota. When he moves away from the storage room, we'll sneak in, put the grenades in, and sneak out."

"Right. How do we do that?"

"I don't know."

"What? I thought you were good at this!"

"I am!" she said, red-faced. "I just don't have anything on me right now. We're going to have to improvise." She moved towards the entrance before I could complain.

"Are you leaving?"

"No, of course not. I'm just unlocking the door in case we need to make a quick getaway. See? I am good at this."

I just crossed my arms while she did her thing. A distraction. Huh. I couldn't think of anything without busting out the magic sword. Unless I had water. _A sound like using a shower or sink…_

"Alex," I said too loudly. "Is there water underground, by any chance?"

"Shush! You're being too loud. And yeah, there is. Pretty sure there are toilets and showers here. But the pipes keep breaking and sometimes water drips down from somewhere. Why?"

"I think I can make a leak. A small one, maybe. It should be enough to distract Dakota."

Alex pursed her lips. She obviously didn't want to rely on something she didn't understand. But we both knew we had no choice.

"Alright. You do that. Let's go."

I nodded. Together we snuck further into the hallways. We passed through more doors and branches of the corridor that stretched out like veins. Alex looked like she'd been here before, though, and she didn't stop for anything until she paused near a corner. I thought we were waiting for something. Then I heard the humming again.

Alex turned and pointed to me, then pointed at the door. She wanted me to break the door? I frowned and dug up my coin. She rolled her eyes and started to mouth words instead.

_Make water behind door, _she mouthed with a lot of hand gestures. I nodded in understanding and we switched places. Moving my head just enough for a glimpse through the corner of my eye, I could see Dakota leaning on a door and drumming his fingers on it. Great.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a lake behind that door. A waterfall. A river. An ocean. Then I imagined a geyser. There was a tugging at the pit of my stomach. I braced myself for the entire place to get flooded. Instead I heard a drop of water hit the floor. Dakota had stopped drumming his fingers. I focused again. Another drop.

"I knew I should have peed before going here," Dakota sighed. He stopped leaning on the door and opened it. The instant he walked through I felt Alex grabbing my hand and dragging me to follow. We tiptoed after him as fast as we could. When she stepped in, Alex rolled immediately to the right of the entrance. I went the other way and looked for cover. There was a table. I crawled under it. Luckily, Dakota was in the centre of the room and staring at the ceiling.

"Another leak? You gotta be kidding me. Watch me get blamed for this," Dakota mumbled. He started cursing and mocking the praetors. It was pretty good. I could see Alex hiding behind some kind of closet. We stared at each other's eyes. I could tell that she was thinking the same thing as me. _Pleasegopleasegopleasego…_

Finally, our prayers were answered, and Dakota left the room. He closed the door behind him and left us in total darkness. I didn't dare to move. Was there anything nearby that I could knock over? I felt like there was something I could knock over. Then a beam of light shone. I looked up and saw that Alex had used her phone as a flashlight. She wiggled her eyebrows at me. I gave her a thumbs up.

With some light, we could finally see what was in the room. It looked like a normal auto repair shop with chariots instead of cars. I underestimated how big they'd be. Even the smallest two were bigger than SUVs. The other two were even bigger. There were decorations and inscriptions lining the chariot. Something along the lines of victory and death and honour, I'm sure. Romans were always going off about that. Alex slipped under one of the bigger ones and fiddled with something. I heard a small click.

I whipped around and summoned my gladius. Dakota didn't hear us. Or he thought it was just another drop of water in the room. I wasn't going to take any chances, so I still held my sword at the ready. After a few minutes I risked a look behind me. Alex had moved on to one of the smaller chariots. That one only took a few seconds. I felt a tap at my shoulder and I put the sword away. She grinned and gave me the thumbs up.

_Now what? _I mouthed. Alex moved her hand to rub her chin before she remembered that she was holding her phone. I had to cover my eyes. I did not expect it to produce so much light. Then the gears started turning in my head. Judging by Alex's expression, she had the same idea. I pointed at her phone, then at the door, then at my eyes. She nodded.

I stood directly in front of the door and as far away from it as possible. My shoulder was braced, like I was playing football. Alex waited right beside the door. I held my breath. She held up three fingers. Two. One. As I was sprinting, I wondered if Dakota had locked the door. An image of me dislocating my shoulder against the wood flashed in my mind. Before I could have second thoughts, I crashed through the door.

I heard a surprised yelp. Me and Dakota hit the deck. I got off him as fast as I could, trying to reorient myself. Dakota reacted faster than me. Luckily, Alex was faster than him.

Even while prone, he reached for his gladius and was about to face me. In less than a second Alex blasted him in the face with her phone's flashlight. He cried out and covered his eyes. It gave us the time we needed to start booking it.

"Hey! Stop!" he yelled. I thought we were home free. Then I remembered our legionnaire training. Dakota was not only faster, he was stronger and tougher. He was going to catch up to us. I couldn't beat him one-on-one, either. I was running through the options when Alex tossed something behind her. I couldn't see what it was, and I couldn't turn back to look. Dakota would see my face.

Whatever it was, it worked. We sprinted through the halls and burst out the circus maximus. We kept running.

"What did you throw?" I gasped between breaths.

"Poison wind bomb," she managed to say.

"What? But that could hurt him!"

"He's a full legionnaire. He'll know what it is and hold his breath. If he doesn't – guards always carry nectar and ambrosia."

I didn't know what to say that. But the feeling of running free, wind blowing in my hair, I felt like I just dodged a bullet. Adrenaline was coursing through me. I started laughing despite myself. Alex did too.

Eventually we reached the Fifth Cohort barracks. I bent down and rested my hands on my knees. My lungs felt like they were melting. But then I started laughing again.

"What's so funny?" Alex demanded, but she was cracking up too.

"I feel like that one time I pulled the fire alarm in school," I managed to say.

"I feel like that one time I took a Nintendo Switch," Alex giggled.

"No way. You have a Switch?"

"And Breath of the Wild."

I wheezed. She laughed louder, which made me laugh louder.

"You're alright, Jackson," she said, punching my arm again.

"No, Alex. I'm amazing," I said, punching her back. She grinned.

Together we walked back to our room. I crawled to my bed, fully clothed, and instantly fell asleep. Today was a good day.


	5. Chapter 5

I was going to collapse under the weight of my own back. Sadly, I didn't get the chance. You would think that mixing cement would be like mixing wet sand. It was more like trying to move a mountain of frozen mud.

The sun blazed on the back of my neck. I hated myself for not bringing a towel or a t-shirt, or at least some sunscreen. When Felix suggested I take all that stuff with me I just laughed at him. Now I was the only one who looked like an Oompa-Loompa.

My legs were still sore from all the running me and Alex did yesterday. If she felt the same, she didn't show it. The day had started normal enough – with Vitellius screeching, Octavian explaining everything, and the others laughing at me.

"We're going to have war games today," Octavian had said over breakfast. He was eating oatmeal with fruits and nuts. It looked a lot like the stuff my mom had tried to get me to eat. Alex, Felix, and Vanessa were having a much more normal breakfast of cereal while I had a stack of blue pancakes. I still got weird looks for the colour. At least my roommates had gotten used to it.

"Isn't that like a really old movie?" I asked.

"What? No, Percy. We're having actual war games. The legion gets divided into defending and attacking teams, and we fight it out. Loser has to do the winner's chores until the next war games."

"Wait, is that why we have to do so much laundry?"

"Yeah," Octavian sighed, picking at his food. "We've had, what, ten straight losses?"

"Something like that," Felix agreed. "But who knows, maybe our luck will change."

"It better," Vanessa grumbled. "I've had to scrub off so many stains my hands are starting to smell like sriracha."

"I heard we're going to be the defending team today," Alex mentioned as she shovelled Cocoa Puffs into her mouth. "That should be fun. We get to watch the other cohorts play Mythomagic while the rest of us get beat up."

"How'd you know that?" Octavian demanded.

"I hear things," Alex shrugged.

"The point of the game is to protect our banners," Felix continued explaining. "Each cohort has a flag and the opposing team has to capture all of them."

"Technically we're supposed to work together, but it's still a competition. The cohort that gets the most banners get all the glory," Vanessa added.

"Alright. So we just put our banners in the middle of a field and make a big circle around it? Doesn't seem like much of a war," I said.

"That would be lame," Alex agreed. "But no. The war game will be in the Field of Mars, so everyone has plenty of space to move around. The defending team gets a head start, too, while the attacking team strategizes."

"Strategizing when and how they're going to stab each other in the back, usually," Octavian said.

"The defending team can do whatever they want in preparation. It's been tradition since forever ago that we make a fortress, though."

"A what?" I choked. "You expect a bunch of kids to make a fortress in half a day?"

"No, of course not," Vanessa scoffed. "We don't get that much time. Anyway, we're all taught how to build quickly. We can break down the whole camp and move somewhere else if we have to. It'd take days, but we can do it, no problem."

A few hours later I found myself struggling to stay upright. We had been paired with the Fourth Cohort to be the defending team, like Alex had said. Everyone moved like real construction workers, carrying and erecting trunks of wood and tying them in place. The children and legacies of Vulcan directed the whole process. At first it had all seemed a little wobbly, but we were told to use actual stone and cement in what had to be the structural points, because everything stood firm. Now we were pretty much finished.

The result was a stone fortress built onto the side of one of the larger hills in the Field of Mars, complete with guard towers, an iron portcullis, enormous crossbows called scorpions, and water cannons mounted on the walls. Most of the legionnaires were inside discussing battle plans. The newest members were still outside, constructing a low wall at the very top of the fortress for us to use as cover.

"How's your part going?" Vanessa called out. I stared at the misshapen lump of brick and mortar in front of me.

"Looks like something I'd make in art class," I shouted back.

"Good. Ugly parapets are usually sturdy parapets."

"Hey!"

"Probies!" a voice rang through the air. I bolted upright. Out of the corners of my eyes, I could see that everyone else was on their feet as well. The speaker was an older girl, armed and armoured. "Finish up and follow me inside. We're finalizing the plan."

She spun on her heel and headed back into the fortress. It would lead down into a large chamber with more hallways branching out from there like an ant's nest. We didn't have the time to make powerful barricades, so the building was designed to confuse the enemy instead. Everyone not involved in its construction would get lost within minutes.

I used up the last of the cement I had and followed the girl. The cramped corridors were just big enough to let the five of us through walking shoulder to shoulder.

"What did she call us?" I asked Octavian.

"Probies. Cause you're in probatio, remember?" he answered, eyeing the little lead tablet on my neck. I had gotten so used to the weight that I forgot it was there.

"Kind of hard to forget," Alex muttered. "It's like a tattoo that you don't remember getting. It's embarrassing."

"Cheer up, Alex," Felix said. "Just a few more months. Then we all can be full members."

"Except for Percy," Vanessa pointed out.

"I guess you really do save the best for last," I grinned. Groans filled the passageway.

Slowly the walls widened. Eventually we reached what I assumed to be the war room. It was just a big hollowed out part of the fortress that barely fit the two cohorts. There were tables and chairs scattered across the room. Dakota and Gwen were standing at the largest one in the centre, arguing with two other guys I had never seen before. They were dressed in full battle gear and had a length of dark green cloth attached on their backs, too small to be cloaks, but too large to be capes. They were clearly in charge.

"Hold on, we're not ready yet!" Gwen was saying. She looked like she had made a full recovery. Her reddish-brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she was waving around a gladius.

"I'd say we are," one of the guys said. "And both of us outrank both of you. Or would you like your centurions to step in?"

A round of sniggers passed through the crowd. Eyes flicked over to a couple dudes hunched over one of the tables, playing some sort of card game with figurines. They didn't even look up at the noise. There was nothing special about them at first glance, but now I could see that they both had the green cloth on their shoulders.

"No," Gwen grumbled. Dakota just folded his arms. I've never him seen him that quiet before, which was probably not a good sign.

"Alright then. That's settled. Now, let's explain the battle plan to everyone. Or does anybody else want to jump in?"

"I'd like to say something," someone said behind me. The voice made me shudder, but I turned all the same. It was Jules.

He glided across the room despite it being packed full. Everyone parted at the sight of him, whispering amongst themselves as he did.

"Is that him?"

"What the hell's he doing here?"

"This'll be good…"

Jules was wearing full armour like the rest of us, complete with gladius and pugio, and a royal purple cloak strapped onto his shoulders. It billowed behind him like the slipstream of a battleship. I hate to say it, but he looked awesome.

"Praetor!" the dude sputtered. He bowed his head and took a few steps back. Jules took his place like it had been reserved for him.

"Listen closely, legionnaires. Marcus and I have decided to participate in today's war games to see first-hand the state of the legion. It's been a long time since either of us had a real fight. Don't disappoint. Understood?" I found myself nodding with the rest. He made you feel like you should impress him.

"Good. We'll both be taking an active role, so if you don't do exactly as I say, Marcus will crush us. Dakota, John, pick five of your best warriors and stay with the flag. Take them to the room closest to the entrance and have a child of Vulcan reinforce it. Nobody goes in or out."

"Wouldn't that be the first place they look?" Dakota asked. Jules shook his head.

"I know Marcus. He'll force the bulk of his forces through the portcullis as cannon fodder, but he'll scale the wall with his elite. That's where everyone else comes in. Gwen, Eric, you're both in charge of your own cohorts. I'll assume overall command." An excited murmur went through the crowd.

"Why's everybody taking this so seriously? Shouldn't the son of the war god destroy the son of the love god?" I whispered to Octavian while Jules had everybody's attention.

"Jules is a far better fighter, but Marcus can inspire people like nobody else can," he whispered back. "He may not be a genius tactician or anything – even some of the centurions are better at it than him."

"So how come he's top dog?"

"Because he makes miracles happen," Octavian stated. "He can talk people into doing things, amazing things, stuff that they didn't even think they could do. Marcus just makes you believe in him."

That sounded an awful lot like brainwashing to me. At least Jules would try to kill you with a sword, face to face. My blood turned into slurry at that thought. The praetors joining my first war games? That can't be a coincidence. One look at Octavian's face, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

One praetor will try to kill me. The other will try to protect me.

Is it going to be Jules? I know I can't take him in a fight. Will he 'accidentally' stab me? Or will Marcus bury me under the weight of three angry cohorts? Could he have talked someone into doing it for him? How well did I know the people in this room?

"Hey," a voice said, pulling me out of my head. I didn't realize I was sweating. I flinched and saw Octavian gripping my arm.

"It's going to be alright," Octavian assured me. "You're not alone anymore, remember? You have us."

I looked at my friends. They were the only ones paying me any attention. Vanessa raised an eyebrow when she saw my face. Felix managed a shaky smile. Alex just winked.

I took a deep breath. _Right, _I thought. We got this.

"Is that clear?" Jules barked.

"Yes, praetor," the crowd thundered. All around me people were starting to shake in their boots like kids about to run into a playground. They were gripping their weapons so tight their knuckles had turned white. For a second, I thought I could see a red glint to their eyes. Must have been my imagination.

"Then go to your stations, legionnaires. Twelfth Legion Fulminata!" he raised his fist in the Roman salute. Everybody followed suit with a blood-curdling yell. A small group of older guys followed Dakota and one of the Fourth Cohort centurions deeper inside. The rest of us followed Jules outside.

I thought the sunlight would blind me when I got out, but it was already starting to set. There was a warm glow instead of a harsh glare. The view might be beautiful if it wasn't for the army below us.

About a hundred feet from the wall, the three cohorts had assembled. They were separated into three neat blocks, the sun making their weapons and armour look like wreaths of flame. There was a single figure standing a good distance in front of them. It was too far away for me to make out any specific features, but I would recognize that purple cloak anywhere.

We shuffled into position while the attacking team stood like statues. I had tuned out pretty much everything that Jules said, so I just followed my friends. Our formation became clearer as we moved. The more experienced members formed a line away from the walls. The gap was filled by the newbies, which included me and the rest of the probies. I craned my neck to see Gwen and the other centurion. I finally spotted them at the very back, arms folded, surrounded by the oldest members of the cohorts. They didn't have the same battle frenzy that seemed to take over most of the people here, but their cold, calculating looks told me that they'd been in a few fights.

Me and my friends were probably only meant to slow down the enemy, wear them down, and make them easy pickings for the real fighting force. That annoyed me. I guess it made sense strategically, though. That annoyed me even more. Then I saw a flash of purple and Jules himself made his way to the parapet, holding onto the side of a scorpion. Instantly I felt calmer. He had that effect.

Then a trumpet blared, followed by what sounded like a thousand hammers falling onto anvils. It made my heart skip a beat. I peered over the wall to see that they had all locked shields in a phalanx.

"March, legionnaires!" a powerful voice swept through the fields and reached all the way to the top of the fortress.

"We are greater in number and in courage. Only victory and glory await us in those walls. Show them what it means to be Roman!" The rallying cry of more than a hundred people coursed through the air. For some reason I could feel something strengthening me. It was all I could do to stop myself from jumping off the fortress and charging them.

"That old snake," Jules said to himself, shaking his head. "Charmspeaking that many people at once…"

Just then, all three cohorts gave one last roar, and attacked at once. It was a sight to behold. Everyone bristled nervously and clutched their weapons a little tighter.

"Calm down, men," Jules intoned. He had none of the bravado of Marcus, but his voice reached everyone on the walls all the same. With a flash, he drew his gladius. The Imperial gold looked like a ray of sunlight in his hands.

"We have all the strength of Mars Ultor with us." The weirdest thing happened. I could swear Jules was suddenly surrounded by dark red mist. He looked like he was glowing.

"There's no way," Felix gasped.

"The blessing of Mars," Octavian said. Even he looked impressed.

"He can use it at will?" Felix demanded.

"Don't be naïve," Octavian replied. "That's impossible." He didn't look like he believed his own words.

Whatever it was that he was doing, it only made us even more restless. The fortress shook as the incoming attackers marched in unison.

"Archers!" Jules called out.

"That's my cue," Felix said grimly. He sheathed his gladius and retreated deeper into our lines, along with a few more probies. They made a loose formation and bows appeared in their hands, seemingly from out of thin air. Arrows were nocked.

"Won't they kill someone?" I asked.

"Blunted arrows," Octavian replied. "Same with the scorpion ammunition."

I glanced at the enormous crossbows mounted on the walls. I wasn't sure if blunting those things would make any kind of difference.

"Nock!" Jules barked. The archers followed seamlessly.

"Draw!" I held my breath.

"Loose!"

A wave of black arrows blotted out the sun for a moment before hurtling down to the attackers. There was a lot of screaming.

"Nock!" Jules said again. They repeated the whole process. This time, Marcus responded.

"Legion! _Testudinem formate_!" With a shout, the three cohorts raised their shields and shifted into turtle formation. The archers would have to aim for gaps no bigger than mouse holes.

"Fire at will!" Jules shouted. Arrows started streaming down. Most hit the scutum, but a few slipped past their defences. Jules had decided to drown the enemy in arrows instead of using pinpoint attacks. That was smart. I wondered if I would have thought of that.

"Now!" Marcus yelled below us. That didn't sound good.

Immediately, the second-frontmost rank lowered their shields and pulled out bows of their own, firing arrows with bulbous heads. I yelped and ducked for cover. Nothing managed to hit me, but I could feel them impacting the wall solidly. I risked a look to the other defenders. Everyone was also crouching behind the parapet except for Octavian and Vanessa.

"Those were hydra arrows," Vanessa hissed, drawing her spatha.

"Legion! _Frontem allargate! _Prepare to repel boarders!" Jules commanded. He moved to the very front of the formation while the rest of us scrambled. We made a loose square formation with a solid few feet of space between each person to give each other some room. Something told me that he expected this fight to get messy.

Glancing over the edge, I could see something reflecting off the arrows. Whatever it was, it suddenly shot out handholds at two-foot intervals. Almost immediately people started climbing them. I grit my teeth and summoned my gladius.

_Any second now._

"Shouldn't we cut the lines?" I yelled. My voice sounded shrill.

Jules just shook his head and fell into a fighting stance.

"Let them come."

I only had time to swallow my fear before the first man climbed over the wall. Marcus himself landed on our fortress, his own purple cape touching the ground as he drew his gladius. Immediately, our own praetor met him in combat.

Marcus was good. He was definitely better than me. Maybe better than Dakota. Jules made him look like a clown.

To Marcus's credit he knew when he was outclassed. He immediately took a defensive position and only moved to block or parry Jules's onslaught. I could barely keep up with him. He might have pushed Marcus over the wall if it weren't for enemy reinforcements. Helmets appeared on the edge of the wall, and legionnaires started to create a solid foothold. Two centurions moved to help Marcus. It took three of them working together to hold back Jules.

"Legion, advance!" Marcus managed to scream before cowering under brutal strikes from Jules's golden gladius. That was all I could see before I faced enemies myself.

The first guy to appear was older than me, maybe fifteen. He crouched behind his scutum and charged me. I barely pivoted out of the way in time before attacking with my own gladius. The legionnaire blocked it and moved to counterattack.

_Now!_

Just like my first sparring session I hurled my shield, and just like the first time, my opponent did not expect that. But I wasn't facing Dakota right now. He took the hit to his nose and fell to his knees, which gave me the chance to knock him on the temple with the flat of my blade. He collapsed in front of me.

I whipped my head to either side. Vanessa and Octavian were standing their ground, but they wouldn't last very long. Alex had one of them on the ropes. I couldn't see Felix. I had to get to them somehow. The enemy didn't give me time to think.

This time, I was up against a girl. She'd probably seen what I did to the first guy, since she didn't just try to bulldoze me.

"Come on," I growled, taking a few steps back. She mirrored my movements and kept waiting for an opportunity. I grit my teeth and started to make my way towards Octavian. He was the one in worst shape. Luckily, the girl didn't take her chances and let me reach him on time. I felt a shoulder bump against mine and my eyes darted to him.

"Percy?" he gasped. Octavian was bleeding from a cut on his cheek, but otherwise looked fine. I couldn't see his opponent.

"Two on two!" I shouted. In the second it took me to say that the girl lashed out. I managed to parry it on time with speed I didn't know I had. I shifted back a couple steps. Octavian did the same. Now, we were side by side.

"Let's get them," Octavian said. I could hear the smile in his voice.

Together, we stood our ground. It was a good thing I moved to help him out – Octavian got a tough customer. The odds were a bit more even with me here, but we were starting to lose ground. They would beat us any second now.

Then someone screamed in my ear. I thought it was Octavian until Vanessa came charging in with her oversized spatha. She attacked the girl, who was forced to raise her scutum to block. It was enough time for me to strike, hitting her head with the flat of my blade against the inside of her own shield. She fell in a heap.

"Just in time!" I crowed. Vanessa grinned.

"What will you boys do without me?"

"Heads up!" Octavian shouted. He gave just enough warning for me to duck under a swing of an enemy sword. Right. Not over yet.

The lone legionnaire was good, but we overwhelmed him. Not much you can do when it's three on one. Well, unless you were Jules. I could see him again, the purple cloak making him a target for the attacking team and a symbol for the defenders. Marcus was still fighting him, but the two centurions were nowhere to be seen. Three other people had taken their place.

"Where's Felix and Alex?" Octavian demanded. "We need to stick together! We can't fight these guys one on one."

"There!" Vanessa cried out. She pointed somewhere to our right, away from Jules. I could see Alex fighting in the thick of it.

"Come on, you losers!" she screamed. "Is that all you got?"

"We'll get her," Octavian said to me. "You go find Felix. Meet up back here!" He pulled Vanessa with him and disappeared into the throng of bodies before I had a chance to reply. I grit my teeth and dove back to our backline.

Now that I was alone, I tried to keep a low profile. I let myself feel a little pride for knocking out two elite soldiers, but I didn't let it get to my head. They both had been taken by surprise. Anyone who survived their first few fights were probably a lot better. I wouldn't be able to take most of these guys in an uninterrupted duel.

I saw things in the chaos of war. People had fallen to the ground, desperately holding their scutum with both hands to block swords. I saw people fighting two on one, disarming each other, knocking each other out. All semblance of tactics had been thrown out the window. It was an all-out brawl.

Finally, I spotted Felix. He was still holding his bow and was firing arrows into people just a few feet away from him. I could almost feel the bruises that they would get later. He was pushed back almost to the entrance of the fortress along with a couple more archers. I thought it was a bad idea to use them in such close quarters, but they held their own. Not a single person made it to the tunnels.

"Felix!" I shouted, and almost took an arrow to the chest for it. Felix's eyes went wide when he recognized me.

"Percy! What're you doing? Get back in there!" he shouted back.

"What? No! Not without you," I yelled.

"We're fine over here," he replied. "We can hold them."

"The rest of us are getting overrun," I hissed as I got closer to him. Right after I said that an attacker managed to reach our last line of defense. I moved to intercept him and occupied the legionnaire long enough for someone to shoot him on the side, making him crumple.

"We're going to need every man right now, or they're just going to steamroll past you guys later," I said to all three archers. They exchanged looks skeptically. But I knew I had come through. They saw that guy almost getting past.

As one, they dropped their bows and drew a gladius. There was no battle cry this time. They just waded into the fight. I grabbed Felix and pulled him aside.

"Come on," I shouted over the sounds of battle. "We're going to need you."

We fought our way through together. Well, it was more like Felix distracted them while I knocked them out. I sort of wished he kept his bow, though we made it back to the meeting place all the same, only to find that the others were already there.

"Did you miss us?" I said, moving to stand beside them.

"Get back!" Octavian shouted. He yanked my arm and pulled me out of the way of an overhead cut. Vanessa and Alex immediately collapsed on the enemy. He went down before I could see his face.

"Alright, everyone, stick together," Octavian growled. "Back to back!"

We fell into formation. The best word to describe how it feels to fight side by side with your friends is exhilarating. 'Excitement' or 'thrill' didn't do it justice. I could feel courage and adrenaline course through my veins and reach all the way to the point of my gladius. We battled together, covering each other's blind spots, and it just felt right. _This is it_, I thought. This is probably what I would be doing for the rest of my life. And I would love every second.

As powerful as I felt, I could see that we weren't going to win this fight anytime soon. People were still climbing over the edge of the walls. I had no idea what was going on inside the fortress, either. For all I knew, the enemy might have captured our banners already.

Jules was probably the only reason why we haven't lost. He fought like a demon, whirling through the enemy ranks and knocking down people like dominos. He was battling at the edge of the wall, holding back what looked like an entire cohort from destroying one of the few water cannons that was still functioning. The gunner was screaming incoherently and firing indiscriminately, the barrel of the cannon pointed away from the open fields and at the people on the walls. I think some were even knocked off the edge.

"Legion, to me!" I heard someone cry out. There was only one guy who could shout that loud. Marcus was back in the fight. He raised his gladius in the air, and more and more enemies moved to join him. If we gave them the chance to regroup they'll definitely pierce our defences and make it through. Everyone on our team was fighting just as furiously to make sure that didn't happen. But a praetor in the battlefield was a symbol that everybody could find. And Marcus's voice. Something about it just made me _want _to join him, no matter the cost.

I saw Jules's response. He had moved beside the water cannon and pointed out Marcus to the gunner. The message was clear. If we could knock him out the enemy would be scattered. We might win.

Something caught my eye. I saw that Jules was holding something other than his gladius. Looking back, we weren't so far away, but with all the people between us I couldn't be sure. Still. I thought he was holding a broken arrow.

Then I realized that he was holding it awfully close to the cannon's muzzle. It would get carried by the water. If the arrow hit Marcus at that speed, no amount of nectar and ambrosia would bring him back. I've seen how strong those water cannons are. And if the gunner was a son of Apollo, he wouldn't miss.

"No!" I screamed. I charged the water cannon before I knew what I was doing.

"Percy, get back!" I could hear Felix yell behind me. I could barely hear him over my heartbeat.

_Wait, _I thought. _Wait. Focus. _

I took a deep breath. Time slowed down. The ground trembled as the water cannon prepared to fire. I saw a drop of water appear on the muzzle.

_Now!_

I reached out a fist and yanked it back, screaming the whole while. The blast from the cannon shot away from Marcus and streaked up at a sharp angle. The water hit the side of the hill that the fortress was built on with a shattering crash.

The battlefield fell silent. I could see everyone looking around in confusion, wondering what just happened. But both praetors had their eyes fixed on me. My stomach twisted.

"Remarkable," Marcus whispered. He realized too late that Jules had reached him. Marcus was disarmed in a single fluid motion and crumpled to the ground after Jules hit him in the head with the pommel of his sword.

"The game is won!" Jules shouted over Marcus's motionless form. "Assemble for honours!" A cheer sounded from the defenders. Everyone else cursed and threw down their weapons in frustration. Technically the attackers could still win. But I guess everybody knew that without a leader they would fall apart. Kind of like me right now. I sank to the floor, hoping that nobody would notice me.

"Percy," I heard someone say. I ignored the voice until something shook my shoulder. I looked up to see four concerned faces looking down on me.

"Percy," Alex repeated. "Come on. The battle's over." I nodded mutely and let her pull me up to my feet. My friends had some cuts, probably some bruises, but nothing serious. Nothing to make people stare at you. They made a circle around me and together, we made our way down the fortress. I didn't say anything on the way out.

When we were finally on the Field of Mars itself the legion fell into formation: five equal blocks, five men wide, eight ranks deep. The First Cohort was first on the right, then the Second, then the Third, all the way to the Fifth. Centurions stood at the head of each block with the most senior members right behind them. Me and my friends stood at the very back. Even from that position I could see Jules and Marcus facing the legion. I bowed my head to avoid eye contact.

"Legion!" Marcus shouted. For someone who was unconscious just a few minutes ago he sounded as commanding as he was in the battle.

"You have fought bravely. You have fought well. But there can only be one winner, and today, the Fourth and Fifth Cohorts are victorious!"

Everyone around me went nuts. People started banging swords against shields, lifting pila and bows into the air. The attacking team was silent.

"We will reconvene later this evening in the senate house to award medals for those outstanding combatants who have proven themselves in the war games. I trust that you know who you are. Is there anyone else in particular you would like to commend?" Marcus had turned to Jules, who kept his arms folded and frowned.

"No," he said.

"Very well. I would like to call Perseus Jackson of the Fifth Cohort and invite him to the senate house for distinction," Marcus said.

People started whispering around me. I could feel their words crawling into my head.

"Guess the rumors are true."

"Did you see what he did?"

"Water cannon up my nose…"

Jules held up his hand. The legion fell silent.

"That is all for now," he said softly. "Dismissed."

"Ave!" shouted every legionnaire, raising his or her fist in the Roman salute.

"Ave," I mumbled.

People started walking away towards Camp Jupiter. Some of them headed straight to New Rome. I wish I could turn into water, seep into the ground, and disappear forever. I would have stood there till morning if Octavian didn't snap his fingers in front of my face.

"Hey man," he said. "You good?"

"I'm great," I managed to say. "Super."

Octavian pursed his lips and furrowed his brow with concern. I wasn't okay. I wanted someone to tell me that everything was going to be alright. But I didn't know what I could do to help myself. I wouldn't know what to do if I were Octavian, either.

"You guys go ahead," he said to the others. "I'll stick with Percy for a while longer."

Octavian watched my face until we were alone in the field. Then he turned to leave too.

"Follow me. This always helps clear my head, so I hope it'll work for you too."

I trailed after him like a lost puppy. Maybe what I did was right. I probably saved a man's life, after all. But now that the secret was out, how would I be treated? It was bad enough that there were expectations of me. Now it would be even harder to win people over. Rome was afraid of the sea, chaotic as it was. A lot of people drowned in those days. They wouldn't trust me any more than they would trust a hurricane.

Octavian had led me south of our barracks. South of New Rome too, in fact. I'd never been to this part of camp. When we reached the cobblestone roads of the via praetoria, instead of turning left to the city or right to our home, we continued straight. The path winded a bit and led to a bridge over the Little Tiber. The water reinvigorated me and gave me strength. I tried to push it away.

At the crest of the bridge I could see what looked like fancy suburbs beyond us. There were enormous buildings laid out in uniform lines on a big hill, but they varied so much in size and design that it almost seemed random. There was a house that looked like a hospital, all somber white walls and dark windows. Above the entrance a mural of a peacock covered almost the entire front of the building. A massive bloodred crypt decorated with human skulls on iron spikes loomed in the distance. In front of each of the shrines and temples there were statues of what had to be gods. They had perfect physiques and almost looked alive. I stared down one statue of a woman in a goatskin cloak in front of the white building. They were regal. Imperial.

Then I saw the centerpiece of the whole place. At the summit of the hill the single largest temple towered over everything else. Clouds swirled above it, mirroring the round pavilion of columns holding up the domed roof. It was brilliant white with golden accents on the edges.

"The temple of Jupiter," I murmured. The clouds flashed with lighting in acknowledgement. The rest of sky remained calm. I guess he could do things like that.

"Jupiter Optimus Maximus," Octavian agreed. "The best and greatest."

"Is that where we're going?" I asked hopefully.

"No. A little further, now."

He brought me to a little blue building the size of a toolshed. The only decorations were cobwebs and rust. A wooden trident was nailed above the door, which creaked when Octavian pushed it open. There was a small altar in the center of the room with a bowl holding three moldy apples. My heart sank.

"I thought you were trying to make me feel better," I said.

"I want to make you better, not feel better."

I walked to the altar and traced a line on the table. A streak of dust fell away.

"Interesting way of doing it."

"Neptune is your dad," Octavian said simply. "There's no way around it. I saw your face when you looked at the temple of Jupiter. Believe me, everyone wants to be his son or daughter. But like it or not, this is who you are. You can accept that and work with it. Or you can spend the rest of your time wanting to be somebody else."

"I want to be _anybody _else," I voiced. I felt like I was close to tears, damn it. Octavian must have been able to tell. He kept silent.

"The Romans were afraid of Neptune," he finally said. "Maybe they respected his strength. Either way, they didn't love him. And his children were treated like bad omens. The last time there was someone like that in the legion there was a huge earthquake. A lot of people died."

"I didn't even know I could do that," I said. "Do you think I'll do that?"

"To our enemies, hopefully," Octavian said. He tried for a smile.

"They've hated my dad for more than two thousand years. Why should that stop now?" I demanded.

"Why should you let the past determine the future?" Octavian countered. "I believe that everything is meant to be. The Fates exist for a reason. That doesn't mean we can't shape it."

I looked at him fully. He had crossed his arms and had a defiant expression.

"Sure, the Romans hated the sea. But when we fought Carthage and faced defeat, we stole their designs and crushed the greatest naval power of the age with their own ships. When we lost the Battle of Cannae, we took weapons off the mercenaries Hannibal gathered and forged the gladius. Even when we're dealt the worst hands, Rome prevails. When the future looked grim, we changed it."

Octavian looked at me dead in the eye.

"You're more than the son of Neptune. You're the son of Rome. And before all that, you're my friend. Alright?"

"Alright," I said hoarsely, and cracked a smile. Octavian grinned.

"There we go. Now let's get going. We're supposed to wear togas if we want to enter the senate house."

"Is this how you clear your head?" I asked him. "Pep talks in dusty temples?"

"No," Octavian admitted. "I ask the gods for help."

"Do they answer?"

"I believe they do," he said softly. "But honestly, I've never prayed to your dad. The baths are the biggest body of water I'm comfortable with."

"Why am I not surprised," I chuckled.

"Hey, man, I'm telling you," he shrugged. "Missing out." And with that, I was left alone in the temple of Neptune.

I swallowed and approached the bowl. The apples had been there for so long they dried out. I didn't have any food on me, so I just knelt before the altar.

"Hey, dad," I said quietly. "I'm having a little trouble here. Actually, I'm going to have a lot of trouble. I hated you my whole life. But I think now… maybe I can move past that. I hope you can help me out. And I hope that one day, I can be proud to say I'm your son."

There was no response. No crack of thunder. But I felt invisible walls that I had built around me falling apart, like what happened with Alex. Unlike Alex, it wasn't to keep out people. It was to reject my bloodline. Now I felt something stirring in me, like waves crashing down on the sea.

That felt like a response.

The feeling lasted until I stepped out of the temple. The decrepit little building felt more powerful than when I first entered. I promised myself that I would come back to clean it up once this was all over.

I walked back to the barracks with a spring on my step. I was still exhausted from the battle, especially without any sort of rest. But I walked with my back a little straighter and my chin a little higher.

My friends were busy putting on their togas in our room.

"This is so stupid," Vanessa grumbled. Like everyone else, she was dressed in her normal clothes, but had what looked like a big white bathrobe on top of it all.

"I don't know," Alex said. "Mine's pretty fluffy. I might be able to sleep through the ceremony."

"I'm not sure who'll kill you first if you do. Octavian, Marcus, or the Lares? I think it's the Lares."

"Welcome back," Felix said to me. "You good?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm good," I said. And I meant it.

"Peachy," Octavian said before shoving my new toga into my arms. "Now shower and put that on. I don't think we'll be late, but don't push it."

"Yes, sir," I said before rushing off to the showers. My friends were still waiting for me when I finished. Which was good, because I had no idea how to put on a toga.

"Dude, you're going to the senate house, not a sleepover," Octavian said, wrinkling his nose. Felix helped me out while the girls howled with laughter. When that was finally over with we walked together in the direction of New Rome. People were whispering while we passed. I brushed past them all. Most of them were dressed like us.

"Why are so many people coming?" Alex whispered. "Usually it's just Jules, Marcus, and whoever gets the medal."

"I guess they're expecting a show," Vanessa said, eyeing me. I shrugged.

"Whatever. Marcus is probably just going to pin a medal on my chest." I tried to shrug off the unease.

The senate house was a relatively large building with pillars holding up a white domed roof. I realized that it looked a lot like Jupiter's temple. I guess all the important buildings were modeled after it. It was much less impressive inside. It reminded me of a high school lecture hall, with seats arranged in a semicircle around a stage where a podium stood, backed by two big chairs. We managed to get seats together. It wasn't easy. The place was packed full of whispering legionnaires. Then a bunch of older kids entered the room, and everyone fell silent.

The praetors sat on the larger chairs, of course. Their togas, which I realized were what they wore in the battle, were purple instead of white. The front row was filled with ten people wearing ordinary togas with a golden laurel brooch holding it in place. After an uncomfortable moment Marcus moved to the podium.

"Good evening, legion. Now that we're all here, the ceremony can begin. Jules?"

The curly haired guy grunted and got to his feet. For someone who just tried to murder his colleague he looked relaxed. He took out a small velvet box that I didn't realize he was holding and put it on his chair, and gingerly pulled something out.

"First, the Mural Crown, to be awarded to the first man over the wall. Marcus Freeman!" The other praetor stood at attention and had a bronze badge shaped like a laurel wreath pinned on his toga. The crowd nodded approvingly. I noticed that some of them were wearing purple too. Then I realized that they were Lares flitting around the people.

"Second, the Gold Crown, to be awarded for outstanding performance in combat. Dakota Williams!"

And so forth. Jules kept naming increasingly weirder awards until he closed the box, put it under his chair, and sat down.

"Thank you, praetor," Marcus said. "That concludes the medal ceremony. However, I would like to call forth another legionnaire for special commendation. Perseus Jackson of the Fifth Cohort!"

Whispers ripped through the crowd. I got to my feet and tried not to trip on my way to the stage. I stood beside Marcus and faced everyone in the room. Being in a big group of people and being in front of them were two different things, I found.

"Towards the end of the war games I found myself in the line of fire of a water cannon," Marcus said smoothly.

"Percy was there to save me by redirecting the blast into the hillside. Under normal circumstances this would hardly be cause for a commendation. However, upon further inspection the cannon had somehow snagged a broken arrow and shot it along with the water. I would have died if it hit me. For that, I recognize Percy Jackson's act of valor and raise him to be a full member of the legion."

The senate house exploded.

"A son of Neptune?"

"He's still a probie!"

"Water cannon up my nose!"

Marcus raised his hand and just like that, the room fell silent again.

"It is my decision, and it is final. Percy Jackson has proved himself in battle, practice though it may be, and saved a praetor of Rome. His bravery must be duly rewarded," he said. His voice was still buttery smooth, but there was something else to it I couldn't quite place. It was just compelling. Then he turned to face me, and I snapped out of it.

"Your arm."

I held out my forearm. Marcus inclined his head and raised his arms. "We accept Perseus Jackson, son of Neptune, to the Twelfth Legion Fulminata for his first year of service. Do you pledge your life to the senate and people of Rome?"

"I do," I said. The words came out easier than I thought they would.

"_Senatus Populusque Romanus!" _the senators shouted.

Fire enveloped my arm. My eyes widened more with the shock than the pain. Then the smoke and lights died, and replacing it was a bunch of marks: the letters SPQR, a trident, and a single stripe.

"Thank you, Percy Jackson," Marcus intoned. "You may be seated."

I numbly walked back to my friends. They remained silent and stared at the brands on my arm. Now that I was facing the praetors I realized with a start that Jules was staring at me. I got the impression that he had been for a while. The thought made me shiver while Marcus kept talking about some announcements.

"How was it?" Felix whispered beside me. "Did it hurt?"

"Like hell," I whispered back. He tried for a smile.

Soon after, the ceremony ended. People grumbled and left the senate house in pairs and groups. All around me people were chattering and stealing glances. I tried to keep the inside of my arm pointed inwards.

"Now what?" I said aloud.

"Now, we eat," Octavian replied cheerfully. "Nothing will stop Romans from feasting."

He was right, of course. Despite all that happened today people were shoveling in food like there was no tomorrow. I wasn't one to complain. It was almost as good as my mom's cooking. Maybe I just had a target painted on my back. Right now, the only thing on my mind was the all-blue pie in front of me. Even the whipped cream was blue.


	6. Chapter 6

"Let's go over it one more time."

"I said I got it, dude. There's not much to understand," I scoffed and readjusted my toga.

"Just in case," Octavian insisted. He looked much more comfortable in his own toga, but you would think he was facing off against the Minotaur judging by his expression. The guy was practically shaking. I'd never seen him that scared.

"I'll speak only when spoken to. I'll do everything you do, just slower. And if anybody asks me anything, I'll be as honest as possible," I droned off.

Octavian nodded approvingly. "Good. That's good. Remember, just let me do the talking."

"I still don't understand why you're so nervous," I shrugged.

We were walking down the via praetoria dressed like we were going to the senate house, and people were staring at us. Maybe it was because just yesterday I had officially been declared a son of Neptune. That kind of thing would make people stare. Despite that, or maybe because of it, Octavian had decided that now was the best time for me to meet our mysterious sponsors. Vanessa was pretty much done with the Invictus, but she was running out of IOUs to give suppliers. We need a buttload of denarii before it can be completed.

From the beginning, Octavian was confident that he would get us sponsors. And when Octavian said he would do something, you could count on it being done. He did have to let me know in private that at some point he'd have to bring me to them. If they liked me, that would seal the deal. If they didn't, we wouldn't even be able to join the tournament. I had always brushed off his reminders. Now his anxiety was starting to make infect me.

"Who are these guys, anyway?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"They're one of the richest and oldest families in New Rome. They can trace back their roots all the way to the original Roman Empire, supposedly."

"Is that why you're so nervous? Sounds like a bunch of stuck-up snobs," I said.

"They're also my family," Octavian said. I could feel my cheeks burning red.

"Oh. I, uh… sorry," I managed.

"No, you're not wrong. Not completely. But it's just… it's complicated, alright? Just let me do the talking," Octavian said, forcing a smile.

"If it's so complicated, why did you choose them to sponsor us?" I asked.

"There's plenty of choices, sure," Octavian admitted. "But none who would be willing be to give us so much money in such short notice. Family is the best way to do it."

I couldn't imagine not getting along with my family. I wasn't sure what I'd do without my mom. I realized then that my life would probably be a cakewalk compared to some of the people here. Alex. Octavian. I don't think I've ever really seen anyone interact with people other than their fellow legionaries.

The thought stuck to my head and distracted me until I bumped into Octavian, who had stopped in the middle of the road. I looked around and found that we were in a part of New Rome I didn't recognize. I really should explore the city more.

It looked like a suburban ancient Rome, where rich people could live in enormous mansions while people like me would only come to trick or treat. The house in front of us was a blend of Roman and modern architecture, though it leaned towards the older design. It had more in common with the temple of Jupiter than with a normal house.

"We're here," Octavian breathed. "Now, let's go over it one more time before – "

I reached out and knocked on the door. Octavian gaped at me.

"We got this," I assured him. He didn't look convinced.

Before he could retort, the door swished open. A woman stood in the doorway. Inside, the furniture and interior design was typical rich people stuff: lots of wood, rugs, tapestries, and gold ornaments. It was outshined by the person in front of us.

Her blue eyes shone under a curtain of brown hair covering her forehead. Instead of looking like an older woman clinging to her youth, she looked like a movie star who had aged incredibly well. Looking back, she was probably only a few years younger than my mom. But as awesome as my mom is, I don't think even she could look this good.

"Octavian!" she gushed, pulling him into a hug. He just kind of patted her back.

"Hi, mom," he managed to say. "How are you?"

"Much better now that you've arrived! It's been so long since you last visited, I barely recognized you. Look at how tall you've gotten! And this must be that friend you mentioned," she said, turning her attention towards me. I tried to be cool.

"Hi," I squeaked. Then I realized it was probably polite to shake her hand, so I stuck mine out. She shook it with a lot more strength than I expected, though her smile didn't waver. In fact, it grew wider by the second.

"How are you, young man? My name is Elizabeth, I'm Octavian's mother," she said.

"I'm cool," I said without thinking. I could almost hear Octavian trying not to slap me. "I'm Percy Jackson, Octavian's roommate from the Fifth Cohort. He was even nice enough to sponsor me."

"That's wonderful," she said. "Oh, I'm so glad that you've finally found some friends, Octavian. And to think, just a few years ago we had to arrange playmates just to get you out of your room!"

"Right, mom," Octavian said stiffly. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing. Luckily, her attention was on someone else.

"Can we come in?" he said before his mom could go on.

"Hm? Yes, of course! Where are my manners? Everybody's already in the dining room. Why don't you boys wash your hands before coming to the table? The restroom is right over – "

"I can take Percy there," Octavian interrupted. "Don't worry. I still remember where it is."

"Of course, dear," his mom said. She didn't seem to mind getting cut off, or that Octavian had rushed inside the house. I struggled to keep up with him.

Octavian's place really wasn't that big, or that fancy. There were more modern appliances than paintings or candelabras. For some reason I was expecting a butler, feather dusters, chandeliers, and grandfather clocks. Instead, I saw a La-Z-Boy, a flat-screen TV, and a Roomba. It was suspiciously ordinary.

Octavian pushed a door open and walked into a bathroom bigger than our room in the barracks.

"I hate this," he mumbled while turning on the tap on a pristine sink.

"Hey, relax, man," I tried to say. "Your mom seems pretty cool. She wouldn't be a very good mom if she didn't embarrass you in front of your friends."

"It's not that," he grumbled. "Never mind. Let's just get this over with."

I didn't understand where all this was coming from. I guess I was going to find out either way. A laugh sounded somewhere in the house and Octavian flinched.

"Come on," he said. I didn't bother to use soap; Octavian didn't wait for me. He brought me to the dining room, where a long table was almost completely filled with strangers.

At one end was someone who could only be Octavian's dad in everything but appearance. He had dark hair, but otherwise had the same lanky build, the same intense eyes, and radiated the same quiet authority. Beside him was a stern-looking woman who reminded me of a librarian with her bun and severe expression. On his other side, a little girl was playing with a spoon. I thought she would be banging it on every surface, like me. Instead, it twirled between her fingers.

Something wasn't right. Octavian's dad wasn't sitting beside his mom. She was across an older man with a paunch and a bushy beard. He laughed again, and his whole belly shook. He looked like a blonde Santa Claus. The guy makes you happy just by looking at him.

There were only three empty seats. I tried to glide over to sit beside the big guy, hoping that somehow nobody would notice us. Octavian grabbed my arm before I could go any further and cleared his throat. All eyes snapped up.

"Octavian!" the blond man cried out, leaping to his feet. He grabbed Octavian by the shoulders, beamed at him for a second, and pulled him into a bear hug. I noticed that his arm had a tattoo just like mine, except he had a lyre and a lot more stripes.

"It's good to see you again. This home hasn't been the same without you! And this must be the kid I keep hearing about."

This time I remembered my manners. "Percy Jackson," I said, extending my hand again. "Pleased to meet you." He was even stronger than Octavian's mom.

"Welcome, Percy," he grinned. "I'm Frederick Aelius, Octavian's father. Please, just call me Fred. Come on, you two, sit! Sit!"

I sat down beside him with a smile, though my mind was still processing what he just said. This guy was not what I pictured when I imagined Octavian's dad. I thought he would be a lot more like –

"And of course, our other guests," Fred said. He motioned towards the three people at the opposite end of the table. "Mr. and Mrs. Wright and their daughter Miranda."

"Pleased to meet you," the woman said. She looked at me like I was the main course.

"I've heard much about you as well, Mr. Jackson," the other guy said to me. He was smiling, at least, but it didn't reach his eyes. I saw that he also had the SPQR tattoos, with just as many lines as Octavian's dad, though I didn't recognize the symbol.

"It was a pleasant surprise to hear that the son of Neptune had joined the Fifth Cohort, and an even better one when I found out he shared a room with my son," Mr. Wright said smoothly. He reminded me a lot of the praetors in a way. He had the commanding presence of Jules and the powerful voice of Marcus. It made me want to squirm and lean away. Then my brain started to process his words.

"Your son? But I thought – "

"Percy, he's Felix's dad," Octavian said carefully. That made my mind go on a rollercoaster ride.

"Stepfather," Mr. Wright corrected.

That cleared things up a bit. He didn't look anything like a god. Though hearing the word 'stepfather' left a bad taste in my mouth. I knew it's not fair to judge him by my experience with Gabe, but somehow, he seemed even worse than him. Felix couldn't possibly be raised by someone like him.

"My name's Miranda," a voice spoke up. I forgot that there was another person in the room. The little girl looked a few months or years too young for grade school, but her eyes were directed at the floor and her head was a little bowed. My heart sank to see someone her age be so lifeless.

"Well, now that we've all met, we can finally start eating," Octavian's mom said, clasping her hands together before reaching for the mashed potatoes. I was so distracted, I barely paid attention to the food. That spoke volumes.

"So, Percy," Fred said as he piled his plate with a small mountain. "Where are you from?"

"Um, New York," I said. "Manhattan."

"Manhattan? And you've stayed there for how long before going to the Wolf House?"

"Lived there my whole life. So, about twelve years," I said.

Fred whistled. "A child of the Big Three living alone for twelve years in Manhattan. Now that's impressive."

"Indeed," Mr. Wright said. "And I suppose it's also true that you slew the Minotaur on the way to camp?"

"Well yeah, but I didn't do it alone," I shrugged. "Gwen was there. I never would have made it without Octavian, either."

Octavian forced a smile when his mom patted him on the back. "It was nothing."

"Well, if that doesn't impress you, I don't know what will," Fred said to Mr. Wright. "The boy has shown tremendous courage and strength. I'd sponsor him wholeheartedly, especially if my own son vouches for him."

I lit up and my eyes darted to Octavian. That sounded like all the approval we needed. He wasn't smiling. Instead, he glanced at the Wrights expectantly with his lips pursed. Sure enough, they spoke up.

"We're not questioning his ability, Frederick," Mrs. Wright said this time. "But his temperament, his personality, they have yet to be seen."

Octavian's dad shrugged. "He saved a praetor's life yesterday and earned an act of valor in less than a week. That's enough proof for me."

"I don't have a problem with it either," Elizabeth agreed. "His tattoos speak for themselves."

The corner of Mrs. Wright's eye twitched. I thought she was going to leap across the table and wring Fred's neck. Then her husband placed his hand on the table and she stopped seething.

"We'd like to learn more about him first," he said. "Surely you wouldn't mind telling us more about yourselves, right, Mr. Jackson?"

"Not at all," I said. It was hard not to dislike him. _He's Felix's dad, _I scolded myself. _Give him a chance, at least._

"Excellent. I must say, I'm impressed by your initiative, to join the Bellator Torneamentum at such a young age. What is your reasoning?"

It was a tough question. Luckily, Octavian had expected it.

"To make a name for myself and restore the Fifth Cohort's honor," I said. It sounded flimsy to me, though Octavian had assured that a Roman's favorite words were victory, honor, and glory.

"I see. And what will you do with your winnings?" Mr. Wright continued. I floundered.

"Uh…"

"Like Percy said," Octavian interrupted. "He'll restore the Fifth Cohort's honor. That's the most important prize, after all." I wanted to hug him.

"Of course, of course," Mr. Wright smoothed over. "Let me rephrase that, then. What will you do with the prize money?"

Octavian's stalling let me come up with a sort of decent answer.

"I'm not sure yet, but I have some ideas in my head. I've been considering making a sort of emergency fund, for other demigods like me who come into the camp empty-handed who weren't lucky enough to get someone to sponsor them."

Fred grunted in approval. Elizabeth beamed at me like I was Octavian. Not a bad response for something I came up with on the fly.

"Noble intentions indeed. I suppose I can see why the other families have their eyes on you as well, Mr. Jackson." His eyes bored into me. I was sure he could tell I was just improvising.

"Other families?" I asked.

"We aren't the only ones who have children in the legion, of course," Fred said. "There are plenty of legacies of Mars, Venus, Mercury, Vulcan, and what have you. In true Roman fashion, we entrust the legion into the younger generation, as we have for a thousand years. We keep out of it and let them face the challenges that we did in our youth. But also in true Roman fashion, we don't really follow rules."

"I'm not sure I understand," I said. I knew I sounded dumb, but Octavian did tell me to be honest.

"You see, when people get power, they want to stay in power," Fred explained. "If they can't do it in their own lifetime, they like to extend it to their children. Leave a legacy, you could say." He chuckled at his own joke.

"No other culture practices this more than Romans. Well, other than in this day and age, I suppose. And when you put the two together – "

"You get New Rome," I finished. "The families of legacies pull strings and call in favours for their kids."

"That's exactly it," Fred nodded.

That was stupid. Our godly parents already determined so much for us – what we could do, where we belonged, who we were supposed to be. It isn't right for our real families to do the same. I thought back to my time in New York, looking out the window of my tiny bedroom, staring at the rich kids in their cars and clothes. I used to be jealous, but then I realized they looked even more miserable than I was. Family was supposed to be there for you, not the other way around. We're more than that.

"That's stupid," I mouthed off. "Then there's no point of handing us the responsibility."

"My thoughts exactly," Fred said with a slow smile. I blinked. Was that a test?

"A toast, then," he exclaimed. "Before we start this wonderful meal. To the gods! And to the future of Rome."

He raised his mug. Everyone followed suit, repeating his words in a murmur. There was silence on the table after that, punctuated by the scraping of cutlery on plates. I kept my eyes on the food, and while I was pretty sure everyone else did too, I had the feeling that they were mentally examining me, dissecting everything I had said. I was torn between storming out of the table like a child and saying something clever to sound smart; because right now, I wouldn't trust myself with keeping my temper, let alone winning the tournament.

I forced myself to stay calm. For once, instead of thinking of Lupa, I wondered what Octavian would do.

"If you don't mind me asking, how is our young Felix doing in the legion, Mr. Jackson?" Mrs. Wright questioned. She was subtle, but there was acid in her voice. I was sure she was trying to get me to badmouth my friend. I took my time before responding.

"He's doing very well, actually. I don't really see him standing out that much in any of the exercises, which just means that he's working together with the legion. I think that's more important than any individual achievement."

She nodded slowly in response. I had her on the backfoot. My eyes flickered to Octavian, who was smiling between bites. I took that as a good sign and decided to press my advantage.

"I'm surprised you asked about him, actually. He's always been a good guy and a great friend. Is there anything crazy I should know about him? Should I tell him how worried you guys are?"

She forced a smile. "No, nothing too concerning. Though he has the unfortunate habit of making poor friendships." My ears started to burn.

"I don't think there is such a thing," said Octavian's mom. "Not at that age, anyway, or in the legion. There's nothing wrong with making friends. Better than not having any. Why, when Octavian was younger – "

"I think we can save the childhood stories for next time, mom," Octavian said quickly.

"No, she has a point," Fred belched. "I was genuinely worried that there was something wrong with him, you know," he continued, elbowing me. "But after being sent to the legion, he's grown so much. I guess he finally realized that socializing with people isn't so bad."

"Well, that is interesting," Mr. Wright droned. "That makes me wonder. What made you so interested in Mr. Jackson, young man?"

Part of me wanted to jump to Octavian's defense. A small part, though. I wondered that myself sometimes. I eyed Octavian as he made his reply.

"His ability was obvious to me from the beginning," Octavian said slowly. "But even more obvious was his bravery and compassion. He never looked to advance his own cause and thinks of others before himself. Percy is just a straight-up good person. I don't think I've met anyone like him in the legion, and I doubt I ever will."

I don't think anyone has ever said anything that nice about me. Other than my mom. But that was like, her job. Hearing it come from someone other than family, even if we only knew each other for a few days – that meant something.

"As if we needed more compelling evidence," Fred said. "Not only has he proven himself in battle, received an act of valor, is vouched for and sponsored by my own son, he can hold his own when people try to test him – though he is a bit cheeky."

He shrugged. "There isn't anything more to discuss."

"I would agree," Mr. Wright said, "though there is one last question I'd like to ask. What do you hope to achieve as a legionary? Yes, you'll restore the Fifth's honor and all that," he said dismissively when I opened my mouth to reply.

"But how? Winning the tournament only accomplishes so much. And a son of the elder gods always accomplishes more than anyone expects… for better or for worse."

I was about to say all three of a Roman's favourite words before what he was implying dawned on me. My eyes flicked to Octavian for some sort of cue, but his eyes were more inquisitive than helpful. I realized that everyone had the same expression.

"Well I never really thought about it. I mean, I just got here. I'm still, uh… adjusting," I finished.

"I don't think you understand my question. Surely you see what I'm implying?"

"No, I really don't."

"Praetorship, Mr. Jackson. A child of the elder gods always – "

"I'm not the son of Neptune, I'm the son of Sally Jackson, and my name is Percy," I snapped. "I don't think _you _understand what I'm implying here, Mr. Wright. I'm looking for a home to stay in, not a legion to command."

"That's not how things usually work here. A child of – "

"Then I'll become praetor and change how things work," I blurted out. The moment they left my mouth, the words seemed to come back to bite me.

"I see," Mr. Wright said, lips curling. "Very well, Frederick. I can now say with confidence that I agree with your judgment. Percy Jackson and the crew of the Invictus will have our full support as well."

"Finally. Here I was worried that we'd have to cook up another dinner to finish the matter. Now we can finally enjoy our meal without all this talking! Elizabeth, darling…"

Octavian's dad continued to chatter away with his wife. Between the two of them, they more than compensated for the sudden sombre mood the room fell into. He even started to cheer me up. Before I knew it, we were chatting about everything from sword-fighting to the Golden State Warriors. Octavian even joined the conversation from time to time, and the Wrights did something other than interrogate me. In the end, they laughed and joked just as much as the rest of us. For a second, I thought that maybe it had all been an act to intimidate me. But whenever neither of us were speaking, I could feel Mr. Wright's piercing eyes on me.

"That was an excellent meal, Elizabeth. You make me feel like I was back in the legion, eating with my roommates," Mr. Wright said.

"Oh, it's nothing," Octavian's mom replied. "It's the company that made it so enjoyable. And the fact that you're not the one who has to do the dishwashing."

"That's a good point, honey," Fred agreed. "Octavian, why don't you show Percy around the house for a little while? I wouldn't want him to feel cooped up in here."

"Of course, dad," Octavian said, rising from his seat. I frowned.

"I'd be happy to help, Mrs. Aelius," I said to his mom. She just shook her head.

"No, it's really no trouble, young man."

Octavian had made his way around the table before I could reply. "It's fine, Percy. Come on." He cocked his head, and I finally got the message.

"Alright," I managed to say. Fred and Mr. Wright smiled gratefully. As we were leaving the dining room, I could see that Octavian's mom had taken away the dishes and went to the kitchen, I assumed.

"What're they going to talk about?" I whispered once we were out of earshot.

"Just working out the details of how they'll sponsor you."

"Oh. Okay. That's good, right?"

"It's hard to say when you mouth off every other second, but yeah, I guess you can say that."

"Hey!"

He led me through the same way we came in. We were about to reach the living room when Octavian cursed under his breath. I peeked over his shoulder and saw that Mrs. Wright and little Miranda had beat us to it.

"Can't talk there. We'll have to go… damn it."

Octavian whipped around and almost pushed me aside, rushing to a different part of the house before I could do anything other than grumble. Along the way, I noticed that between the big paintings on the wall, there were lots of framed photographs dispersed on almost every surface. Octavian set a brisk pace, so I could only catch glimpses of a small, happy family. A large man with a permanent smile on his face was featured in nearly all of them, in varying stages of youth and health. A much smaller woman stood at his side in most of them, and occasionally, a frowning little boy.

With my eyes distracted, I almost tripped on some stairs. Octavian was already halfway up. I clambered up while running my hand on the lacquered banister and resisted the urge to slide back down. I caught Octavian grasp the handle to a door, hesitate for a second, and ducked inside. I felt like I was going to a sleepover I wasn't invited for, but I followed anyway. Octavian had frozen in the room.

"Gods, they really haven't moved a thing," he muttered, shaking his head.

I looked around in awe. I was inside Octavian's childhood.

I expected the floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books, but I did not expect the posters of rock bands I would be too embarrassed to mention out loud today. There were several bedside tables that looked like shrines to the video games I always wanted as a kid: everything from Doom to Contra.

The centrepiece of the room took up an entire wall. It was a pristine study table straight out of an Ikea catalogue, complete with a small rack, a huge computer, and several enormous headphones resting on their stands. The setup reminded me of a recording studio minus that huge piece of equipment that looked like it belonged in an airplane cockpit. Being a legacy of Apollo, I guess that made sense.

Everything else seemed so… ordinary. There was nothing for me to make fun of: no embarrassing pictures, no secret diaries, and aside from the weird number of books on history and speeches, it had as much personality as an Ikea catalogue. No, I guess 'ordinary' wouldn't be the word to use here. 'Empty' is more appropriate. It wasn't just another room in the house. I felt like I had moved from a loving home into a small cage, no matter how pretty it was. It made me more sad than envious.

"Listen, Percy. It's true that you've convinced the Wrights to support us, but it's come at too high a cost. He's going to tell everyone that you want to become praetor!" Octavian cried, pacing around the room. I scoffed and sat on his bed.

"He's just twisting my words. And what's wrong with being praetor? Isn't it like becoming student council president?"

"Student – "Octavian had to stop and take a deep breath.

"Control over the Twelfth Legion and the future of Rome is a little different from managing a prom, Percy."

"Then tell me what a praetor does, exactly. Maybe if you mentioned that before I met the freaking Addams family down there, I could've been a little more prepared!"

"For some reason I doubt that," he said, crinkling his nose. It was my turn to take a deep breath. He was the one who sighed.

"Fine. I guess it was partly my fault. I should've explained better."

"Yeah, you should. Why do we have to care what the Wrights think, anyway? I thought your family was the sponsor."

"Yeah. But technically, the Wrights are my family, too," Octavian said.

"I don't get it."

"Everything becomes confusing when gods are involved, family trees most of all," he agreed. "Think of it this way. There are lots of families here, yeah? And each family has connections with at least one god. And if you're connected with one god, you automatically get connected to that god's connections too."

"Like connecting to wi-fi?" I asked.

"Sure," Octavian managed. "Like wi-fi. And my family's the biggest computer connected to the Apollo wi-fi. But years ago, Apollo and Mrs. Wright had Felix, and they're the new kid on the block. And since my family's been a bunch of legacies for generations, a lot of people think that the Wrights should take over as the biggest computer."

"An upstart," I said.

"Exactly. But the real problem is that my parents are okay with it. They welcome the Wrights into the family. I'm not sure if they realize what they intend to do, or if they just don't care."

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"What?" he demanded. "Of course it matters. My family would lose all of our connections, all of our influence – "

"Why does it matter?" I repeated. "You still got a family. A cool one, too: a mom and dad who love you, a place – a _second _place you can call home. Why does it matter?"

"Because they have no ambition! My family's become complacent, and I can't let that get to me too. My parents may be okay with everyone laughing at how far the Aelius family have fallen, but I'm not going to be the same. I'm going to change things. I'm going to be better."

"I don't think there's anything to improve," I shrugged.

"Maybe not for you. It's no wonder that you get along with them so well. You wouldn't care what people say about you, as long you have the people you love. It's a noble thing to do, sure. But I want to go beyond that. I want people to respect me, respect my family. Then we can all stop being satisfied with what we've got and become happy with who we are.

I wasn't sure what to say to that. It sounded like something he had told himself many times in front of a mirror. I could see that crazy look in his eye again, though, like the light reflecting off a moth's eyes just before it flew into a flame.

"I guess there's nothing wrong with ambition," I admitted. "It's just not for me, though. Not really."

"Well, that's where we're different. And if you want to understand what it means to be praetor, you need to understand that too. If you can't move yourself up in the world, then you can't move the legion, either."

"Is that what this is about? Becoming praetor?"

"It's been my dream since I was a kid. I've worked on it since I was a kid, too. A praetor is someone who the legion can trust to lead them into the future. It's always with either the pen or the sword – that's why I spent so much time studying debate and rhetoric and speeches. I know I'm not the best fighter, so I'll use words instead."

"Those are the only two options? Being good with a sword or being good with speeches?"

"Pretty much. Well technically not, I guess," he admitted. "Sometimes demigods are born with special gifts, like augury. That'll help a lot. But it hasn't happened in a very long time, so those are the choices we're stuck with."

"And you're saying that I just declared to the Wrights that I want to become praetor," I said.

"That's right. It's a dangerous thing to go around saying. The responsibilities include – "

"Perfect, then," I said. "We'll be praetors. Together."

Octavian looked to be at a loss for once. "Huh?"

"You and me. You're right – you and Mr. Wright. If you want to make New Rome a better place, then you need to be praetor. Let's do it."

"Why would you want to do that? What makes you think you even can? A second ago you didn't even know what a praetor is!"

"A praetor is someone that people can trust," I intoned. "I'll have to work on that part. But this camp is the only home that people like me will ever know. I won't let it be run by people like Marcus or Jules. If becoming praetor means I can help even one more demigod get here, then I'll be praetor."

He snorted at that. "You make it sound like it's just something to be decided."

"Isn't it?"

Now he laughed out loud. "I suppose it is." He paused for a moment and looked me in the eye. I could see a haze of uncertainty now, and behind it, maybe some hesitant hopefulness. To be honest with myself, I wasn't sure what I was walking into. It sounded an awful lot like getting a job, and I am so not prepared for that. But I did mean what I said. I guess that's all it takes, really.

"You and me," Octavian said, rolling the words off his mouth.

"Together," I agreed. "We can't possibly be worse than the two already in charge."

"It's going to take a lot of work," he warned. "Winning the tournament is a cakewalk compared to what we'll have to do to prove ourselves. A washed-up legacy of Apollo and a son of Neptune…" he shook his head. "I don't think anything like that has ever happened."

"It's happening right now," I grinned.

"Alright. Then promise me this. We're going to have win this thing. We can't just scrape a victory – we need complete domination. Especially now, with – with the war coming."

The word sent my stomach churning. "Do you think it'll really come to that? War, I mean?"

"For sure. The last time Saturn fought the gods, it swept through Greece like a storm. But this time, they'll have a full Roman legion with them. And if we're lucky, we'll be leading it. A thousand demigods and legacies."

Wow. Putting a number to the responsibility made me nauseous. I was just a kid from Manhattan. Just a few months ago, I couldn't even do my homework properly. I probably still couldn't. What was I getting into?

But the look in Octavian's face took my head out of the clouds. I thought back to the expressions I would see in Marcus and Jules' faces whenever I saw them – always distrusting, always hateful, no matter how well they hid it. Anything was better than that. Right?

"I'm up to it."

"Whatever it takes? Even if it means sacrificing your friends? Your family?"

"Well, that's taking things a little too far."

"Praetors have gone through more than that in the past," Octavian said darkly. "And it'll be even harder for us. That's what it takes. I've thought about it long and hard, and I'm sure I can do it. Can you?"

"I…" I wanted to say yes. It would be so easy, and yet it didn't want to come out. I just met these people, this place, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I thought back to my life before I came into all this, and how much had changed. I wasn't just a troublemaking kid who struggled in school. This was my chance to make a difference. I set my jaw.

"Yes. I can, and I will."

Octavian nodded and held out his hand. I looked down and scoffed.

"What?" he demanded. "A handshake is tradition."

"Please." I stuck out my pinky instead. "A pinky promise is sacred."

Octavian managed an exasperated sigh through his smile. "Fine. Pinky promise." He hooked his finger around mine. We looked at each other dead in the eye.

"Together," he said.

"Together," I echoed.

Not for the first time, I wondered what the hell we were doing. We were two scared, lost boys. But here and now, I realized that we've become more than fellow legionaries. We were friends. I don't think I've ever had anyone like him. I'm sure the same thing was going through his head. I've never felt so exhilarated, and the feeling was only growing. But a small thought grew with it like a tumour. I knew that from now on, I would always choose my friends over anything. Whatever it took. I wondered which of us would break the promise first.

It was starting to get a little awkward. Luckily, Octavian's mom saved the day.

"Octavian! Could you come down here, please? And bring Percy too!" her voice rang out.

"Coming!" he called back, removing his finger first and reaching for the door.

We trudged back downstairs to find the dining room empty and the living room full. Octavian's folks were seated snugly into their seats, while the Wrights looked like stiff boards.

"Boys! Sorry we took so long, but you know, 'adult talk'," said Octavian's dad, making air quotes. "Maybe I'll tell you the boring details some other time, I'll cut to the chase for now. After meeting Mr. Jackson here, I speak for both of us when I say that we'll sponsor you in the Bellator Torneamentum. Any expense, any equipment – anything you need! You'll have it."

I couldn't stop grinning. From the corner of my eye, I could see Octavian look the same.

"You won't have time to come to me and ask approval for every little thing, so I'm giving Octavian the right to call the shots," Fred added. "Unless there are any objections?"

He looked at me pointedly. "I wouldn't have it any other way," I confirmed. I felt Octavian straighten at that.

"Excellent! And with that, our little dinner party has officially come to a close. It doesn't mean you two have to leave right this second though – stay a while! I think we still have some ice cream in the fridge…"

For once we were aligned with the Wrights when we said that we'd already eaten too much. We exchanged pleasantries with the Aelius family – though I think they really would cook us another meal if we asked for it. I finally understood why my mom would take so long when she met someone in the grocery store, though. Half of the encounter was saying goodbye: both sides were dancing around it, but both were too polite to bring it up first. It was Mrs. Wright who finally cracked.

"Well! It has been a lovely evening, Elizabeth, but I think Eric and I really must be leaving now. It's already past Miranda's bedtime, and I'd hate to keep her awake any longer," she said with a smile, already standing up and pulling the little girl to her feet.

"Of course! Of course!" Elizabeth replied, jumping to her feet. "Let us get the door for you at least."

"We wouldn't want to linger either," Octavian added. "I'm sure our roommates back in the Fifth are starting to get worried."

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Octavian's dad. He winked at me and continued, "Octavian could never let go of his phone ever since he got one, you see. One time, he even – "

"Right, gotta go!" Octavian yelped, grabbing my shoulder. "We need to get going too. See you!"

"Sure, son. And Octavian?"

We both looked back. I was ready to hear the start to another embarrassing story. Instead, for the first time, I saw something like sadness in Fred's eyes.

"You could never 'linger' here. This is still your home, you know. It always will be."

Octavian pursed his lips. "I know, dad," he managed to say.

By that time, the Wrights had already left. It was now Octavian's mom saying goodbye. She was all choked up and could barely say anything, so instead she started peppering him with kisses and even gave me one on the cheek. Together, we exited his home, and together, they waved from the doorway. Octavian and I started to make our way back to our rooms. He didn't look back once.

"Well, that was a little awkward, not gonna lie," I said to break the silence. "It's like you're being shipped to boarding school or something, and you'll only see them once a year."

"It's usually less often," he replied.

"Oh." That felt like the best possible response.

New Rome was a different world at night. The streetlamps illuminated the smooth cobblestone path leading back to Camp Jupiter. Combined with the cool air sifting through the trees and through our lame togas, I felt like I had woken up in the Wolf House for the first time. But the alienation was starting to go away, and honestly, the toga was pretty comfy. Slowly but surely, I felt more and more Roman.

Being lost in thought somehow made the trip feel shorter. We reached the barracks just when I was starting to feel cold. Pushing the door open into our room, Alex and Vanessa bolted upright. They were seated at the table and had clearly fallen asleep while waiting for us. Both their eyes were bleary red.

"What took you so long?" Alex demanded. "And why are you wearing togas?"

"It's only been a couple hours," Octavian said. "I think. Besides, I'm starting to like my toga."

"Who cares about the togas? What did they say? Is your family sponsoring us?" Vanessa questioned.

"Well, now that they've met me, of course they are," I said. Octavian rolled his eyes while the girls collapsed back into their seats.

"Thank the gods," Vanessa mumbled. "You've been driving us crazy. Now I can finally get into the actual construction of the chariot. Alex, will you help me – "

"Anything you want, sweetie," she sighed. "As long as I can do it later."

Vanessa nodded and started listing more and more obscure stuff that she wanted to get. Alex just grunted every now and then and tried to stay awake. Me and Octavian took the opportunity to change, and I realized that Felix was missing.

"Where's Felix? I thought he was already asleep," I said out loud after looking at his empty bed.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. He couldn't take the suspense and left for archery practice," Alex replied.

"What – at this hour?"

"It's how he calms himself," Vanessa explained. "If something bothers him, he goes to hit some bullseyes."

"That explains why he's so good at archery," Octavian commented. The rest of us groaned. "What? Come on, we all thought it."

"Whatever. I'm going to go tell him the good news before he stays out all night." I dashed out again and headed straight for the training pits.

There were a surprising number of legionaries still up and about. Most of them were there as some kind of punishment: polishing the armour, putting up fresh dummies and targets, or going through sword stances while bored centurions yelled commands every now and then. It didn't take long to find Felix. He was taking his time and held deep breaths before firing his arrows. They were still mostly off-target.

I tried to sneak up and scare him, then realized it probably wasn't the best idea while he was armed with a bow and arrow. Instead, I called out his name before approaching.

"Felix!"

He looked up just before he let his arrow fly. "Percy?"

"It's me," I grinned. "Guess what? We got the sponsorship! We are now officially in the race. We actually stand a chance to win now!"

"Awesome," he said. "Awesome. Yeah, that's great." He put up a weak smile and reached for another arrow. I frowned. I didn't expect him to start jumping up and down, but he looked like he just came back from his own funeral. His aim was way off.

"Hey, man. What's going on?" I probed.

"No, it's nothing. It's just… you met them, didn't you?" Felix finally said, searching me with his blue eyes. It says a lot that I knew who he was talking about just from that look.

"Yeah. Your folks were… not what I expected," I said, trying for a smile. His expression hardened.

"I mean they're not so bad," I added quickly. "They're very, you know, insightful and stuff."

That got him to chuckle, at least. "Thanks, Percy, but I of all people know what they're like. You don't have to pretend like they're saints."

"Alright," I said uneasily. "They're not very good people, aren't they?"

"They're family," he shrugged. Felix planted his bow on the sand and rolled his head back, staring into the sky. "Is it wrong to hate your own family?"

"Not when you have _them_ for family," I shrugged. "I don't know, man. If they don't care about you, then they're not family, in my opinion."

"I wish it was like that," he sighed. He faced me, and I could see the resignation in his face from the way his mouth had twisted into a small smile. His shoulders sagged, though I doubt it was from fatigue.

"At least I had Octavian there with me. And he's a part of your family too," I tried.

"Octavian," Felix scoffed, with more venom than I thought was possible from him. "He's probably even worse than my parents. You can't trust him, Percy."

"What're you talking about?" I said with a frown.

"He'll do anything to get what he wants. And it's always power, in whatever way he can take it."

_Whatever it takes. _That's what he had said. The words took on a different meaning now. Had he been trying to convince me, or himself? I shook it off. I felt ashamed that I even considered the possibility.

"You're wrong about him," I insisted. "He's a good guy. He's my friend. He looked out for me from the beginning."

"Don't you find that a little strange?" Felix demanded. "Don't you think that it's just a little odd, the five of us being roommates? We're all so different. The praetors always try to put together people with similar abilities – warriors with warriors, archers with archers. That way, when we're put on the battlefield, we can fight with people we understand, people we know."

"So why – "

"Because Octavian pulled some strings," Felix muttered. "Don't you see? Me with the archers. You with the fighters. Vanessa in the forges, and Alex wherever she wants. He's making sure that he has eyes and ears in the entire legion."

I didn't want to believe him – and I didn't. It was ridiculous. The praetors probably just made a mistake somewhere. No matter what he'd said or done, he was my friend. We made a pinky promise.

"That's ridiculous," I insisted. "And even if it was true, well. He brought the five of us together. I don't think that's such a bad thing. I wouldn't trade you guys for anyone."

That got through to him. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Felix's eyes softened. He finally started to look like his old self again. That hateful expression just looked wrong on his face.

"You're a good guy, Percy. I hope you're right about him," Felix said. He picked up his bow and returned it to the armoury without another word. We made our way back to the barracks, and I spent the night wondering what the future held in store.


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you sure that's everything?" Octavian demanded.

"Yeah. I could weld you onto the Invictus, so you can annoy the others to death, but somehow I think that'll just hurt us more," Vanessa said.

"I don't know," Alex sighed. "I think we've built a tolerance."

"Okay," Octavian mumbled. "Point taken."

"But seriously though, is this everything?" Felix asked through a strained expression.

"We won't have time for anything else," Vanessa confirmed. "This is everything."

_But is it _enough_? _The thought hung in everyone's mind so heavily, it was palpable.

In the late afternoon, Vanessa had just put the finishing touches on the chariot and taken it outside the forge for us to admire. Octavian was reluctant to expose our design for the whole of New Rome to see, but he conceded after Felix mentioned that there was no point in hiding it now, since the tournament was starting tomorrow.

Under normal circumstances, I would have been speechless at Vanessa's work. It was a massive wooden construction with wheels that almost came up to the top of the carriage itself, which reminded me a lot of those teacups you ride in carnivals, but almost twice as wide and with an open back, which made me nervous. It would be awfully easy for someone to fall off. The others reassured me that this design was the only reason why a chariot could move faster than your average bicycle, but I wasn't entirely convinced. Upon closer inspection, though, my doubts eased up a little.

What I thought was paint on the chariot's exterior turned out to be real metal plating, polished until it shone like a mirror. The metal loops that were going to be tied to the horses looked sturdy enough to tie down a ship, and the enormous spoked wheels were similarly armoured. The interior was even more impressive. There were little nooks and crannies filled with all kinds of weapons: flashbangs, stink bombs, and big vases of motor oil. Emblazoned in golden text on the side of the construction were the words INVICTUS, in letters that were huge and yet still elegant.

"I can't believe you made this thing," I said in awe, glancing at Vanessa. "I can't even make a paper airplane."

"I just followed Daedalus' designs, same as everyone," she shrugged in reply. "It's really not too far from assembling a Lego set."

"I can't do that either," I muttered.

"It's beautiful," Octavian decreed. "The Fifth Cohort has never owned a chariot this good in years. Next up is the victory laurels, and an absolutely ridiculous sum of denarii."

"So if we win the race," I said, counting the first step on my fingers.

"_When _we win the race," Felix corrected.

"When we win the race," I repeated, "then we'll advance to the next round."

"_You'll _advance to the next round," Alex corrected. I sighed.

"Right, right. Then I have to fight whoever comes second, then the winner has to duel Jules. The best fighter in the legion, who also happens to be old enough to be in college."

"Stop it, Percy," Vanessa scolded. "If I can make this thing in a week, then you can beat Jules. Didn't your training with Dakota help?"

"Well, yeah…" I trailed off. The nightly sparring sessions with Dakota had made me nothing but tired all week long. It was a lot of good practice, I guess, but I wasn't sure how helpful it'll be in the final showdown.

"It doesn't get better than that," Alex said. "We're as prepared as we'll ever be."

All eyes returned to the chariot. I couldn't even imagine riding it. Won't I look stupid, holding a golden coin in one hand and a vase of motor oil in the other, while hundreds of people cheered me on? Or threw rotten tomatoes at me, more like. This was the only way, though. I had to gain the respect of the legion. I hadn't earned the tattoos on my arm. Not really.

"Come on," Octavian said, gesturing with his arm towards our barracks. "Dinner's starting soon. Wouldn't miss that for the world." We all mumbled agreement and shuffled after him.

The camp was abuzz with even more energy than usual. There was a lot of trash talk between the cohorts, and while most of them seemed semi-serious, there were plenty of glares being thrown around too.

Despite the tension, the Romans feasted. Since practically everybody was going to watch the tournament tomorrow, all the drills we were supposed to do tomorrow were done today in addition to the stuff already scheduled. Everyone was exhausted, and they ate like it. But since we were going to participate in the race, we were given the whole day to prepare, and we'd been stewing on anxiety since the moment we woke up.

The aurae were supposed to know exactly what everyone wanted to eat, and the fact that we were only given a few bottles of Coke told us everything we needed about how we felt. Even Alex, who technically wasn't even in the race and had to do all the drills, only took a few sips. The rest of us did little more than stare at the table and wonder how much we'd embarrass ourselves tomorrow. I almost fell off my seat when a hand slammed on my back.

"Percy! How're you doing, my dude?" Dakota yelled into my ear. The chaos forced you to speak up, but not that much. I flinched involuntarily and almost spilled my blue soda. Dakota had his vampire grin plastered on his face with a smattering of even more Kool-Aid than usual. If he was nervous, he didn't show it.

"I'm fine, thanks," I mumbled, before returning to my drink.

"And I'm fine too, thanks for asking. Come on, where's your energy?" he shouted, lifting both his arms up. When nobody reacted, he frowned.

"Jeez, who died?"

"Nobody yet," Octavian muttered.

"Ah, it's the tournament, isn't it?" Dakota chuckled, spinning in his seat to lean back on the table, tilting his head back and taking another swig from his flask. "I remember when I got in. It wasn't pretty, so I guess I understand what you're going through."

"Wait a minute," I blurted out. "You were in the tournament?"

"Of course! You're not the only promising demigods in the Fifth, you know," Dakota replied. "I was the best swordsman they'd seen in a long time. After my second or third year, we pooled our resources and decided to actually try and win, instead of giving up from the very first lap."

"That's just embarrassing," Octavian said, wrinkling his nose. I couldn't help but feel the same.

"You guys didn't even try?"

Dakota shrugged in response. "We were outclassed anyway. At least that way, the only thing that got hurt was our pride, and believe me, it can take a beating." He laughed his weird hiccupping laugh.

"What happened to you? Did you win? Did you get to fight Jules?" Felix stammered. It was the first time I had seen Dakota sobering up. He had a faraway look in his face, like he was reliving that day.

"I… I shouldn't tell you. You'd just get worried," he said while waving a hand.

"Now we're even more worried. Thanks for that," Vanessa grumbled.

"I guess that's true. But I can tell you this." He turned in his seat again and leaned forward conspiratorially. We brought our heads together.

"You guys have a better shot than I ever did. You have an awesome team, an awesome chariot, and this guy," Dakota said, clapping my shoulder. "Don't tell anyone, but I'll admit that he's better than me. And after a week of sparring, I'd even say he has a fighting chance against Jules. You guys got this."

I knew that he meant well, and I was flattered from all the compliments. But all that did was lay even more pressure on each one of us.

"Besides," he burped as he stood up too fast, "he's the son of Neptune! That trident's got to count for something, am I right?"

"Thanks, I guess," I mumbled as Dakota disappeared into another table.

I knew that was supposed to be reassuring as well. It reminded me to turn my arm and hide the tattoo, if nothing else. Desperate to distract myself, I looked at each of my friends.

Octavian was tight-lipped and had his brow furrowed, like he was faced with a complicated math question. He was tapping his finger on the table ceaselessly. For all the world he only seemed a little worried, but we all knew that for him, he might as well be hyperventilating.

Felix was close to doing just that. Despite being the biggest guy in our group – even bigger than Vanessa – he was muttering to himself and kept looking at the sky. I realized that he might have been praying. It seemed kind of weird for a child of Apollo to do that at night, but it seemed appropriate for Felix.

Vanessa tried to keep a stoic expression, but her eyes were a storm of doubt and anxiety. She was starting at her empty plate, no doubt triple-checking her calculations and asking herself if it was going to be enough. I think she had it the hardest. It really all came down to the Invictus, after all. The burden was quite literally on her shoulders, even more than mine.

Alex kept her face carefully blank while twirling her knife in her hand. It was a nervous tic that I associated with her and only her, because I didn't know anybody else who I trusted more with sharp objects. I realized that I was wrong: she must've had it worst of all. At least the rest of us would be in the race and had a chance of winning. She was stuck on the bleachers, and the best she could do was cheer us on. I wanted to tell her that she did her part already when we sabotaged the others' chariots, but I was sure that she'd just punch me.

There was only one thing to do in such a situation.

"Octavian, could I borrow your phone?" I asked.

He flinched at the sudden noise. "What? Uh, yeah, sure," he mumbled, fishing it out and tossing it to me.

"Going to call your mom again?" Alex teased. Vanessa shook her head, smiling.

"Hey, lay off. Maybe if she'll FedEx his teddy bear, he can calm down," she sniggered.

"Don't be mean," Felix piped up. "What he needs is a good night kiss."

They all burst into laughter. That was some tension released, at least.

"Wow, you guys must really be depressed if that's the best you can do," I said. "And trust me, it's a surprise that's a lot better than a good night kiss. You'll be thanking me soon enough." I ran off to find a quiet spot and made the call.

It took longer than I expected – I hadn't done it in a long time. When I came back to the mess, there were only a few people still there, chatting up their friends or eating dessert. My friends were all gone, but they'd at least left me my blue soda. I picked it up and hurried back to the barracks.

I found them laying in their bunk beds, trying to sleep in their own way. Vanessa and Felix were as still as vampires, while Alex and Octavian were thrashing around every few seconds.

"That was way longer than I thought it'd be, even for you," Octavian said as he caught his phone. "Who did you call?"

"The only gods I'll ever respect. Let me know when you get a call," I said.

"How do you know it'll be whoever you're expecting?"

"Please. Nobody ever calls you."

That got even more laughs. I even caught Octavian smiling as I clambered onto my own bed.

All that talk of my mom made me think of her. I wondered what she would do if she were here now. She'd probably tell me not to worry while she tried to hide her own worried expression. And if she were me, she'd probably do the same. Put on a brave face for the world, and steel yourself for whatever it is she needed to do. I figured that was the best thing I could do at this point. Act like a hero.

Just then, Octavian's phone buzzed. We all bolted upright at the sound. Turns out everyone was as jumpy as I was. Octavian passed his phone to Felix, who snaked his arm to me.

"Percy, your mom's calling," Octavian said with a yawn.

"I can't believe you actually – wait a minute," Felix said, retracting the phone before I could take it. "I know this number."

"Oh God, Felix," Alex said. "What've you been doing with Percy's mom?"

Felix didn't seem to hear her. "But – but this is Pizza Hut!"

A stunned silence filled the room. I seized the opportunity.

"I know, I know, I'm a genius," I said. "The only thing that can help us at this point is divine intervention, and since we're running short on that, I took the next best thing." I rolled over in my bed to see their smiles. Instead they were all starting at me in horror. Even Felix and Octavian somehow managed to make eye contact with me.

"What?" I scoffed. "Pizza Hut is great. Don't tell me you'd rather have Domino's."

"First of all, your opinion is incorrect," Octavian said. "And did you seriously just order a delivery here?"

"Yeah, why not? We didn't have anything for dinner, and I don't want us to starve before the tournament," I said shrugging.

"Okay," Vanessa said in a tone like she was talking to a child. "So you ordered a pizza delivery here. In Camp Jupiter. A secret part of Ancient Rome that's guarded by armed guards and a literal god."

Slowly her words sank in. "Uh…"

"When does it arrive?" Octavian demanded. Felix took a second before responding and swore when he found what he was looking for.

"Five minutes!"

We leapt to our feet in unison. I fell off my bed along the way, tangled in my sheets. The others shoved past me as they put on jeans, t-shirts, and windbreakers, cursing as they went. Once I separated myself from the mass of linen I pulled on some clothes too. Most of my roommates were already outside. Felix was holding the door open for me.

"Come on!" he yelled, waving his hand. I stumbled past him, and the five of us ran across Camp Jupiter. The night air was a sharp contrast to the fuzzy indoor temperatures. I felt like I was running through a curtain of beads.

"Get to the bridge!" Octavian cried out.

"No time!" I shouted in reply before crossing the Little Tiber. The others exchanged glances before they rolled back their jeans, took off their shoes, and followed my lead.

If the air was cold, the water was freezing. It wasn't so bad for me, though I suspected it was because of my parentage. My friends weren't so lucky. The water came up to their knees and would occasionally splash to their chests. Vanessa almost tripped on a rock and would have taken a swim if Alex didn't catch her.

"Careful! You almost drowned!" Alex yelled into her ear. Vanessa shook her off. "Fine. I'm fine! Keep going!"

By the time we got past the river I was the only one dry and relatively warm. For once, I thanked Neptune. I don't think I would be strong enough to keep running through the cold, but my friends were made of stronger stuff and braved on. We paused to catch our breath at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Wait," Octavian gasped. "Guards posted outside. Let me do the talking."

"Good idea," Vanessa grumbled. She was wringing water off her hair, while Alex and Felix put their shoes back on. "If you don't die after this tournament, Jackson, I swear to all the gods that I'll murder you myself."

"At least we get pizza," I tried.

"We crossed a river in the middle of the night," gasped Alex, "for pizza. And only hours before the big day. This better be the best gods-damned pizza I've had in my life."

"Stuffed crust," I promised. The grumbling quieted a bit.

"How did you pay for this, anyway?" Octavian asked.

"Our sponsor did. Paid it through your phone."

"At least we're not paying for it," Felix said. Vanessa nodded sombrely.

"Free food is the best food."

"Technically I'm paying for it, but whatever," Octavian mumbled. "Alright, gang. We'll powerwalk from here. No need to alarm the guards."

We nodded and fell in behind him. The dark tunnel was surprisingly well lit, and I could see the sentries far before reaching them.

"Halt! Who goes – why are you all soaking wet?" one of the guards said. The face behind the mask looked like a girl, but it was hard to tell. Her companion turned to face us too.

"Going for a walk," Octavian said easily. "Big day tomorrow. Couldn't sleep, so we thought we should tire ourselves first."

"You can take a walk in New Rome," she pointed out.

"We can take a walk outside too," Octavian countered. "We're all feeling a little cooped up. I'm sure you understand."

The guards exchanged glances. For a moment I was worried that they'd send us back, meet a very confused pizza delivery guy, and kill him. Or worse, they'd take our pizza for themselves.

"A group like this will attract monsters," she said. The other guard shrugged.

"Small enough to make it hard, though. And big enough to fight for themselves. It'll be fine, dude," he said.

The first guard took a second to think before sighing. "Alright, whatever. Go ahead. Just make sure you don't stay out there too long."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding while Octavian nodded graciously.

"Thank you both. We'll be back soon."

We all mumbled thanks as we shuffled forward. With a start, I realized that I hadn't really explored San Francisco without being chased by monsters. And I hadn't explored anything with friends. Although they were shivering and glaring at me, I was… happy. Like I was with a family.

We crested several small hills along the way. Octavian looked back once to make sure that the guards lost sight of us, then started giving orders.

"Alright, everyone spread out. Look for the delivery guy and make sure he does _not _– "

"No need for that," Felix said, pointing somewhere. My eyes followed his finger and spied a guy standing next to a red motorcycle. He was holding a stack of pizza boxes in one hand and a phone in the other, no doubt checking his Google Maps. I whooped, and together, we raced to him.

The poor guy must have been even more confused to find a pack of feral demigods charging at him. I realized how we must have looked and slowed down a little. Luckily, the others took the hint and followed suit.

"Hi!" I said a little too loudly.

"Um… hi," the delivery guy said, eyeing each of us in turn. He looked like he spent most of his days studying in a library, only going out to deliver pizzas.

"Delivery for Mr. Jackson?" he asked hopefully. I grinned and reached out to take the boxes.

"That's me."

"Alright, cool," he mumbled. "Did I actually get the right address? What're you all doing out here?"

"Uh…"

"School trip," Alex said.

"Camping," Octavian supplied. "It's going to be our last day out here for a while, so we wanted to spend it under the stars."

"Oh, are you visiting, then? Where are you guys from?"

"Rome," I said.

"Right," the guy said. "Well, I hope you enjoy your pizza." He hurried back onto his bike and headed back towards the city as fast as he could.

I almost buckled under the weight of so much deliciousness, but I risked a peek inside one of the boxes. The smell of pepperoni and cheese wafted in the air until Alex slammed it close again.

"Hey!" I protested.

"You'll just get it cold," she scolded. "And seriously, Rome?"

"Well, I wasn't lying," I mumbled.

"Whatever. Now what? We can't go back with a stack of pizzas. What're we supposed to do, say we found them?"

"We can just eat them here," I suggested. A whole tirade of arguing was about to be unleashed, until Felix spoke up.

"I know a place," he almost yelled, to get our attention. He pointed to the direction that ran between the city and the wooded area. "Not that far from here. Come on." Felix started marching towards that direction. Nobody had a better idea, so we went after him.

As it turned out, it was pretty far. It didn't feel like it. I admired our surroundings between the endless banter and bickering, and it was beautiful. I thought there wouldn't be much to see – and I was right, in a way – but that just left us to the buzzing of crickets and the chirping of birds. Dew was already forming on the tall grass that we waded through. Patches of flowers stood out among them like little trail of lights in the dark.

Eventually, we reached what must have been the place Felix mentioned. It was a small picnic area, secluded in a grove of trees that blocked out the sounds of the nearby highway. It must have been part of a park but forgotten and abandoned. What remained was a stone table with benches, a little bigger than the ones we have in Camp Jupiter, with ivy and moss crawling on their sides. But the best thing about this place was the view.

It overlooked the hills that we had just crossed and most of the city, dazzling lights sparkling in the distance. The skyscrapers and suburbs looked like monopoly pieces from our position on the big hill, and just beyond that was the ocean. Far, even further than the city, I could see the Golden Gate bridge, its tops clouded by mist, and a long line of traffic crossing it in perpetual motion. The moon and stars reflected off the water to shine on the harbour. It was breath-taking.

"How the hell did you find this place?" Alex demanded. Felix shrugged shyly.

"Sometimes when I'm alone, I want to get as close to the sun as possible without getting too far. After a few years, I found this place. I never told anyone about it, but… seems appropriate," he said.

"This is amazing," Vanessa breathed. Octavian was at a loss for words.

"I bet you're glad I did this now," I grinned. "Who wants some pizza?"

And so, we spent the night before the most important day in our lives eating pizza on a hill overlooking the most beautiful part of San Francisco. We stuffed our faces with it and made up for the tension at dinner with plenty of talk and laughter. I realized that for the first time since I arrived, I didn't spend the whole night worried and afraid. It made sense. After all, I was surrounded with friends.


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you absolutely positive?" Alex asked.

"Of course. Stupid decisions are my forte," I replied.

"You can say that again," Octavian mumbled.

It was hard to believe that just last night, we were eating pizza under the stars. Now we were under an enormous arena, preparing for a chariot race. Your average Roman stuff.

We were in one of the many rooms sequestered inside the Circus Maximus. It was little more than an alcove that had been set aside and prepared for us. Or it should be – the only indication that the room was still in use was the sign hanging from the door: Fifth Cohort waiting room. It had fallen into disrepair, with a few cobwebs and dust bunnies already starting to fill the space. Luckily, it still had most of the necessities. A weapons rack, a table, some chairs, a whiteboard fixed to a wall, markers, and a bucket in case we needed to throw up. I was eyeing it more and more.

We were the only occupants. We'd passed by the other cohorts and were treated in the normal way – insults and laughter. Though I was pretty sure that it had lessened, somewhat. I think they respected us for actually standing up and putting up a fight.

Vanessa was busy prepping the Invictus in the general waiting room. She was the most nervous out of all of us and had woken up early to get herself armed and armoured. Well, I guess Alex was the most nervous. She was dancing around the rest of us guys and helped triple-check our armour straps.

"Percy, I know it's usually not your thing, but you're going to need a shield," Felix said, handing me one of the enormous standard-issue scutum. "We use spears and bows for chariot races, and believe me, it's nothing like a sword fight."

He managed a tight smile. "That comes later."

"Thanks for the reminder," I grumbled, taking the shield. Of course, even if we win this race, I'd still have to face the defending champion. Jules, praetor of Rome, son of Mars and all-around badass, versus a skinny kid with a golden coin. Despite all the reassurance I got, I still didn't like my odds.

"It's going to be alright," Alex told us, probably more for her benefit than ours. I knew she had been frustrated for being left out of the race, but now she probably didn't envy our position. I glanced at the others. They didn't look much better.

Octavian had gone completely stone-faced as he stretched. Like me, he was holding a shield, and was practicing thrusts and lunges with his pilum, a long length of wood with a blade that looked more like a spike than a spearpoint.

Felix was mumbling to himself as he fiddled with his quiver of arrows. He was marking their fletches, I realized, allowing him to nock the right arrow at a moment's notice. He meticulously arrayed them one by one into his quiver before slinging it over his shoulder.

I was just standing there, an idiot with a shield.

"You okay?" Alex asked. She had finished securing Felix and Octavian's armour and had moved on to me.

I nodded once. "Yeah. Peachy. Ready as can be."

She let out a nervous chuckle. "It's going to be alright. I never believed in the gods, even after… after everything," she whispered before kneeling to fix my greaves.

I knew what she was talking about. Luckily, the other two were too distracted to pay her any mind.

"But I believe in you guys," she finished. Alex stood, and we were face to face. I could see the anxiety in her eyes, the light dusting of freckles on her nose and cheeks I hadn't noticed before. If we weren't so nervous I'd be a little embarrassed. Instead, I saw all the emotions I was feeling, laid bare in her expression. I must have looked the same to her.

"Thanks," I managed to say, before fishing into my pocket for the golden coin and taking a step back once I grasped it and pulled it out. I took a deep breath and flipped it.

I hadn't summoned a weapon in a long time, and for one horrible moment I thought it would flop to the floor. My worries vanished with a flash of golden light, as the coin fell into my hand in the form of a spear, almost identical to Octavian's except for the fact that it was made of Imperial gold. The weight was unfamiliar to me; I used the sword way more often. But there couldn't much to it, right? You just stab.

"Alright. I'm ready," I said.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Felix muttered. Octavian just nodded. Alex took a deep breath.

"Let's go," she intoned.

We made our way to the general waiting room. There were only dark tunnels ahead and around us, torches and lamps lighting the way. I knew we were going the right direction, though. The roar of the crowd was just getting louder and louder.

Finally, the corridors widened into a much larger antechamber about two or three times the size of your average car repair shop. The place smelled like a stable, a warehouse, and a garage all at once. It housed all five chariots, with various boxes and crates pushed and stacked against the walls. The chariots and their horses were arranged in order of cohort, with the first being in the very front, of course, so we didn't have a long walk to the Invictus. Vanessa was securing the horses' yoke onto all the metal rings for redundancy. She was dressed like the rest of us in only the most essential pieces of armour with shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt underneath. It seemed a bit counterintuitive to me at first, though I realized that the freedom of movement was probably more important than the extra protection.

_I can't believe this is happening right now, _somebody said as we made our way to Vanessa.

"I can't either, but we're doing this," I replied. The others frowned at me.

"What?" Alex asked.

"I know we're all nervous, but we can do this," I repeated. "We got this."

"Percy, who are you talking to?"

_Who the hell is this guy? _Another, gruffer voice called out.

_I don't know, boss. He looks new, _the first voice replied. Now that I was paying attention, I noticed that this voice sounded reedier, younger, and totally unfamiliar. I whipped my head around.

"Who just talked?" I demanded.

"Percy, why are you having a nervous breakdown? I do not need this right now!" Alex stressed.

"I hear someone talking! Someone who isn't you!"

"Okay, calm down," Octavian ordered. "Where is this voice coming from?"

_What's he doing? _The first voice whispered. I snapped to the direction of the voice. Towards Vanessa. She frowned.

"What? I haven't said anything," she said. One of the horses looked back with a concerned expression. And I just knew.

I walked past Vanessa in a daze and gingerly touched the horse.

"Can you hear me?" I whispered.

_You can hear me? _The voice asked, awed.

"I have no idea why or how, but yeah," I said.

_I'll be damned, _the older voice said. I moved in front of the horses to get a better look at them. Of the four, three looked a little small, while the fourth had a shorter mane with more scuffs in his coat.

_A son of Neptune. As I live and breathe. _

I thought the day couldn't get weirder. Then the older stallion arched his back and folded his front legs. The other three followed suit. I realized that this was the closest thing to a bow that they could manage. All heads turned to face me, horses and demigods alike.

_Hail, son of Neptunus Equester, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Lord of Horses and Ruler of the Seas. _

"Nice to meet you," I said. The older horse flicked his eyes towards me sceptically. I sighed. I couldn't even impress a horse.

"So apparently," a voice said behind me, "Neptune isn't just god of the sea, he's also god of earthquakes. He created horses, and with Minerva, also made the chariot."

I turned to see Alex reading off her phone. She grinned wickedly and wiggled her eyebrows.

"That's got to count for something," she said.

"Good to know," Octavian beamed. For the first time, something other than worry was in my friends' faces. Now it was an expression resembling determination.

Before I could say anything, I heard a crash of metal on metal. The crowd roared in response. They had to have been right above me for them to be that loud.

"Showtime," Vanessa said. She took the horses' reins and wrapped them around her hands. The horses stood to attention, Felix and Octavian put on their helmets. I took a deep breath and did the same.

Above, I could make out some of the words.

"Legionaries! Citizens! Romans! Welcome to the Circus Maximus! Welcome to the Bellator Torneamentum!" a voice boomed over the crowd. It was Terminus, I realized with a start. That made sense. I had a hard time imagining anyone other than a god who could speak over the audience.

"Let us welcome the First Cohort, riding upon their chariot, the Gladius!"

The chariot at the very front of the queue kicked into motion. It careened out of the waiting room, through the wall of light at the end. I couldn't see anything through it, but the crowd shouted and yelled their approval. I put a foot on the Invictus.

"Wait!" Alex cried out, reaching for something in her pockets.

"What? What is it? Did we forget anything?" Vanessa asked, panicked, and started to look around the Invictus's interior. There were the small gadgets stored in little cubbies, and I spied a familiar-looking thermos.

"No, nothing like that," Alex admitted. She looked up and in her hands was a small camera. "I just thought I should take a picture. Before and after, you know?"

I let out a shaky breath. Felix laughed a little, more out of hysteria than anything else. Octavian grinned.

"That's not a bad idea. How else will they chronicle our victories?"

With that, he leapt off the Invictus and stood beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. The gesture was so alien yet so reassuring. It felt right. With a grin, I draped my arm around him as well. Vanessa and Felix followed suit, hopping off to take their places to either side of us.

"Say victory!" Alex said behind her camera.

"Victory!" we crowed together. We stood there for an awkward amount of time. The noise from the Circus Maximus was so loud it almost washed over me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the Third Cohort already preparing for their walkout.

"Now put it on a timer, Alex," Octavian said, "and get over here."

She grinned, rushing to place her camera in a haphazard position on one of the crates scattered throughout the room. Alex rushed back to us and squeezed herself between me and Octavian.

"I'm obviously the centre of the group," she said, striking a pose. The camera went off dozens of times while we all groaned and laughed with her. Then she dashed off to grab the camera just as fast.

"Now get on that chariot already! I'll be watching!" Alex cried out as she ran back inside, probably to find another exit.

"Watch us win this thing!" I called back. She answered with a brief thumbs-up before disappearing behind a corner. I let out another breath I didn't know I was holding and jumped on the chariot.

At first, I thought I would be off-balance. Instead, I felt like I was on the deck of a ship – or what I imagined the deck of a ship would feel like, anyway. The elevated position made me disoriented for a second, like I was on stilts. Huddled between Vanessa on the reins, Felix beside me, and the chariot's plating on the other side, I felt claustrophobic.

We'd talked about our positioning, of course. Vanessa was in charge of directing the chariot, while the rest of us focused on offense and defence. Octavian and I protected the flanks, while Felix stood in the rear to get the best view of the field. If he needed to shoot to either side, we could just crouch.

I was still adjusting to my position when Terminus's voice rippled through the air.

"And last but not least, the underdogs! Welcome the Fifth Cohort!"

There was a ragged chorus from the crowd that I couldn't identify, like a mix of cheers and boos. That was better than I expected.

"Here we go," Vanessa said, and flicked the reins. It took the combined power of all four horses to shepherd us forward, and even then, I couldn't help but feel that we were going slower than the others.

"Don't worry," Felix said, squeezing my shoulder. "We expected this, right? We just need to take them out fast."

"Right," I nodded, feeling stupid. I hefted my shield and spear. It was going to be even more challenging to wield the cumbersome scutum. I guess I just had to make do.

Then we passed through the entrance.

In the moment it took my eyes to adjust from the sudden brightness, all I could see was the audience. To call it an uproar would be an understatement. The sea of people on the seats of the Circus Maximus had risen to their feet and yelled, screamed, whistled, clapped, and stomped to put the Superbowl to shame.

My vision started to clear. I saw the other five chariots arrayed in one bulbous end of the arena to accommodate all of us in a neat line abreast. There was plenty of space for even more chariots here, but the track tapered after a little while. There would be plenty of room to manoeuvre, for better or worse. The circuit was shaped like an ordinary race track in a simple oval.

The sun blazed in the sky, making me sweat already. The dust that the horses kicked up even at a slow canter made a small cloud of dirt floating on the tracks. Visibility would be terrible when they'll gallop.

I didn't know how Vanessa controlled the horses so well, but they seemed to know what they were doing. We made our way to our spot next to the Forth Cohort's chariot. By now, the thunderous crowd was little more than a din buzzing on my ears. I gripped my scutum and pilum tighter, trying to ignore the fact that my palms were getting sweatier by the second. I felt like I was at the peak of a rollercoaster ride, just before it plummeted. It was hard not to throw up.

"Romans! I welcome you to this year's Bellator Torneamentum!" a voice called out. The crowd roared its approval. It wasn't Terminus, I realized. The voice had come from nearby. I turned and looked up to see Marcus standing in a small balcony overlooking the entire stadium, jutting out from the topmost seats right next to the start line. It was like the VIP seats in a football stadium. I guess that's where the idea came from. The only other occupant was Jules, sitting in a chair that looked like a cross between an armchair and a throne, somehow looking bored and regal at the same time.

"As we have done for a hundred years, we celebrate the end of summer with a demonstration of our military prowess from the best in our legion," Marcus continued, speaking in his sonorous and resounding voice. Once again, I couldn't help but give my complete and undivided attention. It was weird.

"I know that there are those among you who doubt our strength, our leadership, and our willingness to fight. Today, I will prove that your worries are misplaced! And what better way than by a show of Roman power!"

Another cheer coursed through the crowd. I shifted back and forth despite myself, suddenly eager to charge into battle.

"Let us begin!" he cried out. The air in front of him shimmered for a second, and Terminus popped into existence. The armless statue was suspended in empty space. He was wearing sunglasses and a ridiculous hat that had cup holders on either side in addition to his usual toga. Instead of soda cans, two chalices were strapped onto the sides of his head, with a straw running from both and leading to his mouth. It was a wonder that he could move around without spilling any nectar.

"Charioteers!" he boomed. His voice didn't carry the same authority that Marcus had, but he more than made up for it with volume.

"You know the rules! The first two teams to make twelve laps around the course will advance to the next round. I don't care how you do it – even if the rest of your team dies, even if your chariot falls apart, if even one member, one broken wheel crosses that line, you will have won!"

"Not much of a victory," I mumbled.

"Nobody wins in one piece," Vanessa replied. "There are always casualties."

"You're telling me this now?" I demanded.

Octavian shrugged. "It's just the way we do things. Victory at any cost."

"Victory at any cost," I repeated. That didn't sound right. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to argue. Terminus had continued to drone off, rattling something about waivers and next of kin – but his next words caught my attention.

"On your marks!"

I rolled my shoulders and bent my knees, shield hand gripping the chariot's edge.

"Get set!"

I grit my teeth.

"Go!"

Everything went wrong immediately.

I was right to think of the chariot like a rollercoaster, because the sudden lurch forward almost gave me whiplash.

The grating of metal-on-metal screeched from somewhere to our left. I didn't even get the chance to look. Vanessa drove the horses forward and we started a gallop on the tracks.

The strong _thrum_ of an arrow being released from right beside me caught my attention. I turned just in time to see it fly between Vanessa and Octavian's heads, straight to an enemy chariot. It was on target, but the chariot was just too fast, and it hit the ground instead. The best opportunity we had, gone.

"Sorry!" Felix yelled.

"We'll get them when they come around!" Vanessa shouted back.

That made no sense – I wanted to get on top of them _now. _But one look at the others told me that she was right. Two chariots were already halfway through the lap. We were trailing behind. There was no way that we could overtake them. We'd have to bide our time and wait for the chariots to make a full lap around the track before we'll have another chance.

"What about the other two?" I demanded, my words barely audible over the billowing wind and the sound of the audience.

"We won't have to worry about them," Octavian said smugly, jerking his thumb back. I gripped the chariot even tighter before risking a look. The chariots of the second and third cohorts were out of commission. They seemed perfectly fine, until I noticed that their wheels simply refused to turn.

"The grenades we planted," I realized. "It messed up the axles."

"Two to go!" Octavian whooped.

"Incoming!" Felix cut in. He let another arrow fly, this time going behind us. I snapped back to reality and saw that the First Cohort's chariot barrelling closer. Felix's arrow would have hit the driver between the eyes if he didn't have the sense to duck. His partner followed suit.

The Fourth's chariot, manned by three people with plumed helmets, were just behind them.

It took everything I had to resist hurling my spear. Instead, I reached inside our chariot and pulled out the first thing I could get my hands on before lobbing it behind. It exploded in a noxious green cloud that made my eyes water in the split second before it wafted down the tracks. The First's chariot managed to swerve around it, but the Fourth's chariot took it to the face. Hope blossomed in my chest before being dashed when they burst through the stink bomb. I cursed under my breath. They'd have to stay inside the cloud for it to have any effect.

Octavian didn't share my reservations and hurled his pilum. It sailed through the air and into the Fourth's chariot. The spear was impaled on its front armour but didn't slow them in the least.

Its riders jeered and laughed as they pulled through ahead of us. Vanessa screamed insults to their backs.

"What the hell did you do?" I screamed at Octavian.

"I took a shot!" he shouted back.

"Shut up, both of you! Focus!" Felix shouted. "This isn't helping. Octavian, you can take my sword."

"What the hell am I supposed to do with a sword?"

I shoved my spear into his hands, almost making him fall of the Invictus. I grabbed Felix's gladius and yanked it out of its sheath. The weight was reassuring, but I would have preferred my own. We should have been better equipped, damn it.

"I'll use the sword," I grumbled.

"Vanessa, when I tell you, swerve left," Felix said, nocking another arrow.

"What? Why – "

"You're going to have to trust me. Octavian, Percy – you better hold on."

We didn't get the chance to protest. Already, the two remaining chariots pulled close. How many laps had they completed – two? Three?

"Now!" Felix yelled. Vanessa swerved.

I realized what he was attempting. The sudden movement caught the First's charioteers off guard, but they were agile enough to dodge out of the way and swerved to the left as well. The Fourth's chariot wasn't so lucky. They were forced to slow and turn right. It wasn't much of a difference from their top speed, but it was enough. Felix released his arrow, and this time, it embedded itself onto their chariot. The Fourth started to speed up again. It seemed useless until I noticed Felix tying something to the loops meant for the horses' yokes.

Small rungs sprouted from the thin but taut rope connecting our chariots together. Felix had shot a hydra arrow.

Both our chariots should have been knocked over, but the Invictus was both bigger and tougher. It anchored the Fourth's chariot and forced it to come closer. They were several feet away and keeping pace beside us. Meanwhile, the First's chariot had hurtled ahead. But that was the last thing on my mind.

"Cut the rope!" the Fourth's driver screamed. One of the riders moved to comply but was forced to duck as Felix shot an arrow. The other charioteer surged to cover his buddy, thrusting his spear to stab Felix. I stepped forward just in time to block it with the scutum. I only managed to turn the spearhead. It still reached out, inches from my chest. I hacked at the shaft, trying to cut off the blade, and only realized my mistake after it suddenly pulled back. I couldn't stop my movement. I overreached, and the other legionary stood up and thrusted with his own spear.

Octavian parried it. He had stepped up just behind me, jabbed with my golden spear to deflect the strike just in time. We duelled the enemy charioteers in a storm of metal, Octavian jabbing his spear while I protected both of us, moving like we'd been fighting together for years. But the Fourth legionaries were just as good, and my shield was feeling heavier by the second. Even though Felix shot arrows through the smallest gaps in the melee, it wasn't making a difference.

"They're coming!" Vanessa cried out. I glanced to my right. Sure enough, the First's chariot was galloping towards us.

"Ignore them!" Octavian yelled. "This is all that matters now!"

I could hear the Fourth's charioteers shouting the same orders. In the thick of combat, the gravity of the situation hadn't dawned on me until now. Whoever destroys the other will win by default. You're guaranteed to get at least second place if there are only two competitors. The First must have realized that too, because they blitzed past us without even throwing insults. We were in a stalemate. That had to change. I did what I do best and made a stupid decision.

I parried a spear thrust, and in the second it granted me I vaulted over the chariot's edge. They didn't expect that.

With one foot on the Invictus and the other on a rung, I began to take the offensive. The footing was treacherous. It was like walking on a rickety old bridge that was moving at forty miles an hour. I felt every bump and pothole we crossed. Still I fought.

At least it made me unpredictable. I was standing higher than the Fourth's charioteers and started raining down slashes indiscriminately. It was all they could do to block my blows. But I also left Octavian's reach. It was a two on one fight. Soon enough, they started to counter, making me pause and giving one of the riders a chance to follow suit and vault off his chariot.

The real fight began. He was good. I feinted a lunge before delivering a backhanded slash. He saw through it, ducked, and stabbed. My shield caught the strike and the force of the impact made my arm burn. The awkward position restricted my movements to ducking and leaning to the side like a boxer. My only advantage was that he was on the same boat. I punched with my shield, hoping to catch him off guard. He simply leaned back and swung his gladius at my chin. I leaned to my left, felt the blade dart past my ear. A little slower and he would have shorn it off.

"Percy, on your right!" someone yelled behind me. I looked and saw the First chariot's rider aiming an arrow at me and my opponent. We were sitting ducks. An arrow went flying, and the Fourth legionary caught it on his shield. The impact made him loose his balance. One good push would knock him off. I didn't have the chance. I reflexively raised my shield, and sure enough, an arrow appeared a split second later. I almost fell off.

The assault only stopped after Felix fired back, and Octavian threw the grease just behind us. This wasn't going anywhere. My opponent knew it too. We regained our footing and our eyes met, daring the other to make the first move. We won't be lucky the second time the First came around. One of us will fall for sure, and if I was going down, I'd take him with me.

He was thinking the same thing. His eyes flicked down.

"You guys better win," he shouted to his friends.

"What?" My eyes widened. "No. No! Wait!"

He cut the rope. I felt my stomach drop and simultaneously _pushed _myself backwards. I could hear him tumbling into the dirt. I managed to turn my body, so I wouldn't stab myself in the fall, and crashed onto the Invictus.

An excruciating pain erupted in my left arm and I was pulled forward. I forced myself to look and saw that my scutum had been caught in one of the Invictus's wheels. My arm was getting pulled out my socket. I was dimly aware of Felix and Octavian screaming, desperately trying to undo the straps. They wouldn't get it off. I knew what I had to do. _Victory at any cost. _

I slashed at my own arm. A burning sensation replaced the wrenching pull. I jerked my arm back as soon as the shield came off. Octavian grabbed it and tossed it away. The Invictus was back on track, but the damage had been done. There was no way we could win this by speed. We needed to obliterate one of the enemy chariots.

I forced myself to look away from the cut on my arm.

"What do we do?" I croaked. Octavian pulled me to my feet. The First cohort's chariot had made another lap around us while we were slowed, the Fourth hot on their heels. Another chance, gone.

Felix tossed his bow to the ground. For a split second I thought he was giving up. Then he reached inside the Invictus and withdrew a metal bottle. No – a thermos.

"Felix," Octavian started.

"I have the best aim. You guys make it through," he said, his mouth drawn to a line.

"Felix – what – "

"You need to get through, Percy! I can do this!"

We couldn't argue. We knew he was right. And the First cohort was approaching.

Felix planted his feet and took a breath. He pointed the thermos's mouth at the chariot. It made him an easy target, but luckily Octavian still had a shield. I could only watch.

He waited for them to get closer, closer. In the instant when they were beside us he unleased hell.

A torrential wind tore through the air. Even standing beside him, I was forced to shield my eyes. The First's chariot took a direct hit and was knocked to the ground, an invisible fist slamming them down. But that much power can't be controlled. Felix was tossed into the air. He must have managed to close it, but it didn't matter. His feet were caught at the edge of the chariot and made him flip in mid-air. I reached out to grab him and was far too late. Felix went sprawling on the race track with a sickening thud.

"No!"

"Percy, get back!" Octavian yelled. I turned just in time to see the Fourth's chariot – and the rider shooting an arrow at me. Octavian pulled me back. I knew it was too late.

A blur shot out in front of me. Vanessa screamed as she took the arrow. The arrow that was meant for me. She took it in the shoulder, but it was enough to knock her off balance. Without a handle on the reins she had nothing to hold onto, and she fell off. I was too late again. In one disastrous second, we lost half our team.

"No," I mumbled.

"Shut up!" Octavian shouted. He had taken the reins while I stood shell-shocked. "They knew what they were doing. Don't let it go to waste!"

_My friends,_ I thought numbly. The only ones who mattered here. I wiped tears from my eyes.

_No more. Nobody else is going down for me._

I lost Felix's sword. The spear I had given Octavian was gone. That was a relief, in a way. I reached into my pocket and took out the coin. It had returned to me. I summoned the gladius once more.

"Let's finish this," I growled. My left arm had gone numb. The only thing keeping me on my feet was adrenaline.

"Isn't it over?" Octavian grated. "The First Cohort is out. We – "

"No."

"What?"

"They're getting back up," I replied. The dust blown up by the Invictus clouded my vision, but I could still see the First cohort's legionaries getting on their feet and righting their chariot. Their horses were exhausted. I think one of them came loose. But they weren't out of the fight. They still had more laps than the Fourth and us.

"Damn it," Octavian swore after he saw it too. "What do we do?"

"We're going to win," I muttered. I forced my left hand to form a fist. It was painful, but it responded. That might be useful in the coming fight. They wouldn't expect it. I steadied myself and prepared for another attack.

The First's chariot bounded towards us. Octavian had kept track of them with brief glances backwards and swerved left once again. As expected, they were able to dodge, bounding to the right instead. Octavian anticipated their move. A second after he swerved, he forced the horses to veer right. The First's chariot narrowly avoided a crash. But they were in my reach.

I vaulted over the edge, this time planting a foot onto their chariot. I knew that the second I let up my attack, we would lose, so I kept up a barrage of savage cuts towards their sole rider. His shield was the only thing between him and my gladius.

They kept pace with us. Looking back, they really had no choice. They couldn't speed up or slow down without Octavian grinding the Invictus into them. One way or another, this had to end. I could see the Fourth's chariot approaching. No doubt they were hungry for revenge, and I was the best possible target. This is it.

I paused my assault for a second. In the moment that the First's rider took to move his shield out of the way I drove my sword point into it with all my weight. Embedded on the wood, I reached with my left hand and shoved it to the side. I was right – he didn't expect that, and I knew first-hand how tight those shield straps wound around your arm. He hurtled off the chariot with a scream, taking my sword with him. Triumphant, I moved onto my next target. And my heart skipped a beat.

I hadn't paid attention. While I was fighting the rider, he had tied the reins around his waist and brandished a bow and arrow.

"Octavian!" I screamed, jumping back to the Invictus.

My warning was just enough to make him turn. He ducked his head in anticipation of the hit. It never came. Instead, the arrow struck the reins. It was a clean cut. They snapped away in the wind, but by some miracle Octavian grabbed them with both hands. With the reins in tow, he turned on his heel and crouched down, holding them over his shoulder and using his own body to connect the horses to the Invictus. Octavian slammed to the Invictus's front interior.

This time, I won't be too late. I hurried to help, grabbing a rope and desperately trying to tie it back to one of the metal loops. An arrow appeared beside my hand, impaled on the Invictus. The Fourth's chariot had arrived.

The next arrow won't miss, and I knew it was coming. Gritting my teeth, I stood between them and Octavian. Then he kicked me behind the knees. I barely held on. But as bad as I was, Octavian was suffering more. The arrow had landed on his arm, and he started screaming.

"I could have saved you!" I shouted.

Octavian shook his head. He looked pale despite the heat. "No – no. You need to fight Jules. You can't get hurt."

I hated deep down, I knew he wasn't wrong. Winning won't mean a thing if I was too injured to beat Jules. The only thing I can do now is fight.

I took a deep breath and tried to ignore Octavian's pained grunts. What did I have? A bow and arrow that I can't use. Flashbangs, stink bombs, and grease – they won't do. Felix had held onto the thermos when he was knocked off. I had a dagger, but I couldn't throw it like Alex. It all came down to me and the coin. It had returned to me once more, and I flipped it to summon a spear this time.

I took another breath. Octavian could barely hold on. There won't be any more tricks from him. I had to make this throw. I just wish I believed I could do it.

The First's chariot was still in the lead somehow. How many laps have they made? It must have been close to twelve. I doubt I would get another chance. I stood tall and readied my spear. My aim was terrible, my arms were tired, the Invictus seemed to hit every bump and pothole. I had to make it.

As the chariot got closer, I saw that the First's remaining legionary still had the bow and arrow. I'd have to wait until he got even closer before taking my shot. Until then, I was just a big target. I ducked behind the armour with my head peeking out just enough to keep him in sight. Despite my measures, he still fired. It was an impossible shot – he'd have to hit me right in the head. I ducked back just in case. There was a gurgle of pain.

Confused, I checked to see if I was hit. Then I looked at Octavian. An arrow was impaled on his chest. The arrowhead must have been blunted somehow or he would have died. But still.

"Octavian!"

"No, stay down! Wait for a chance!"

Blood roared in my ears. The galloping hooves and my pounding heart made my head throb. I peeked. The First's chariot was getting closer, and closer, and closer…

I stood and hurled my spear. Missed. I screamed in frustration, but even that was lost in the wind.

Deprived of a weapon, I could only take cover and hope that he would miss Octavian. He didn't. Arrows struck his chest and shoulders. He didn't bother trying to shoot the reins again, knowing that Octavian would just grab them. I know it was a competition, but to hurt a fellow legionary this badly… _victory at any cost._

Then an arrow hit him from the other side. The Fourth's chariot had arrived, and they had the same grim resolve. I had to do _something. _He was going to get killed.

I grabbed as many projectiles I could carry and started throwing them indiscriminately. Stink bombs managed to stun them, grease forced them to swerve, but it only slowed the hail of arrows. By the time they had outpaced us Octavian was shaking. I moved to his side.

"Octavian – "

"Alright," he gasped. "I'm alright."

He looked ready to pass out. His arms were drawn at an unnatural angle. He was taking rapid, sharp breaths, which made the arrows bob up and down. But he held on.

"One more round," he managed to say. "One more."

I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be fine. I wanted to take the reins myself, and actually contribute to the fight – but if took away those ropes, I doubt he would have the strength to take them again. It was his lifeline.

"One more," I whispered, and stood. Once more, I summoned a spear. Inhale, exhale. Focus.

The enemy chariots were drawing ever closer. I could see the riders: The First Cohort's charioteer looking as tired as Octavian, the Fourth Cohort's riders under their plumed helmets. And through it all, I was acutely aware of the shallow breaths from Octavian. That didn't sound good.

I was hyperaware of my surroundings. I felt sweat trickle down my back, dirt and grime on my cheeks. I knew what I had to do. But I also knew what I _could _do. I knew I had a choice.

Two chariots, speeding towards me. My first and best friend, hanging on by a thread behind me. If I missed, we lose. If I hit, we win. Either way, I could only take down one chariot. The other was going to kill Octavian.

_Victory at any cost._

In the seconds it took me to blink, I could relive those moments. Felix flying off, Vanessa taking an arrow for me. Octavian, barely alive.

_Victory at any cost._

_It was just too high._

I couldn't do it. I flipped my spear, summoned the gladius, and turned to Octavian.

"What're you doing?" he croaked. "What – no. No! Percy! Don't you dare! Stop!"

I ignored him. He was kicking feebly at me. It broke my heart to see him like that. I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but I hoped it was. I stepped past him, raised my golden sword, and cut the ropes.

I found myself tumbling forward, face-first into the dirt. The horses scattered, panicked and exhausted as they were. The Invictus had fallen facedown.

Groaning, I sat up. Octavian was staring at me. We barely noticed the other two chariots rushing past us.

"What did you do?"


	9. Chapter 9

A ceiling fan spun absently. I could hear its blades turning, a soft breeze carrying through the infirmary. I kept my eyes down. I couldn't meet his.

"It's a long cut, but straight and shallow," the nurse said, wrapping a bandage around my arm. It ached a little, but that was it. The worst pain I'd felt was the disinfectant she used. It made me feel even worse somehow. My friends were bedridden, while I got away with a scratch? The guilt hung heavier by the second.

I risked a glance. Felix was lying faceup on a cot with powder blue blankets dirtied by sweat and dirt despite having changed into a hospital gown. There wasn't any blood, but when he flew off the Invictus and hit its edge, one of his feet was fractured, and he'd broken a couple ribs on the fall. He sported a flint on his ankle and a lump underneath his clothes told me where he'd been injured.

Vanessa was a little better. She was sitting up, at least, though her torso was covered in even more bandages. She took an arrow to the shoulder and broke several ribs in the fall as well. She wouldn't need to get physical therapy after her stint here, at least. The same couldn't be said for Felix.

But worst of all was Octavian. I didn't even need to look at him to know he was in terrible shape. He passed out at some point while we rushed inside, so I had plenty of time to worry about him while he was unconscious. Now that he was awake, I didn't have the courage to look for fear of meeting his eyes.

Almost his entire upper body was wrapped with white linens. Both his arms were in slings for the meantime, and ice packs were placed on his shoulders. Mercifully, his legs had been spared, but he would be riddled with scars after he recovered.

"Right. I've finished bandaging your wound. Keep it dry and don't move it too much, or you'll tear your stitches. I recommend you get some rest, but you can watch the tournament if you want. Just take it easy for the next couple weeks," the nurse said as she packed up her stuff. I nodded listlessly.

"Alright. Take care of yourself," she said after I didn't respond. Her chair scraped. Footsteps echoed through the room, and a door opened and closed. It was back to the sound of the ceiling fan.

I felt a hand on my good shoulder.

"It's alright, Percy," Alex said. "It's not your fault. You did the right thing."

I wanted to lash out. How can she say that? She wasn't even there. Not where it mattered.

I was thankful for being too tired to reply immediately. Alex had rushed to the infirmary with the rest of us. If she hadn't taken out the other two chariots last week, it would've been worse. Felix or Vanessa or Octavian could have died. Alex had done her part – maybe the most important one.

"Thanks," I managed to say. The words came out as a mumble that I could barely hear.

"Come on. You should lie down. Get some rest," she said, pulling me to my feet.

I stood, shaking my head as I did. "No. I want to watch the fights. I want to know… if I could have won."

"Percy," she said, speaking like she was comforting a scared child. "Don't blame yourself. There's nothing we can do now."

"But I could have done more," I whispered. "Everyone went down for me. And I couldn't do anything."

"Shut up," she snapped. I blinked, turning to look at her. The anger in her eyes surprised me, but not as much as the tears.

"We didn't do this for you. _They_ didn't do this for you. We did it, so we can protect Camp Jupiter. It was for all of us," she said. Alex closed the distance between us in a flash. Despite being taller she managed to stare down at me.

"We knew what we were doing. Don't be selfish, Percy. It's not all about you," she finished.

Alex's words cut through what I thought was guilt, and now realize to be self-pity. She was right. I was doing them a disservice, belittling the reason why they risked so much. It was worse than ignoring it.

"Thanks, Alex," Vanessa spoke. Her voice was no louder than mine. She smiled despite her exhaustion.

"You shut up too," Alex said, moving to her side. "Get some rest."

She helped her lay on her back. Vanessa slurred a few words of complaint but didn't reject her assistance. She fell asleep almost instantly.

I looked at Octavian, hoping for some kind of response. He had a thousand-yard stare and a blank expression, facing straight ahead. I was grateful for that. Looking at him now was hard enough. Meeting his eyes was still a challenge I couldn't face.

"You get some rest, Octavian," Alex said. "You need it the most."

He didn't reply. I was grateful for that too.

When it was clear that he was giving us the cold shoulder, Alex sighed.

"Come on. Let's get to the Colosseum," she said. I nodded mutely and followed her as we went out the door. I couldn't help but feel that Octavian's eyes bored onto my back all the while. It only stopped when we exited the room. We were still inside the Circus Maximus, in one of the many underground chambers. I don't remember where we came from, but I had Alex with me. We left the building within minutes.

As soon as we did, I felt myself relaxing, the tension in my body seeping out. It would be a long time before the Circus Maximus stopped conjuring bad memories.

"So much for an 'after' picture," I mumbled.

"What was that?" Alex asked.

"We were supposed to take another picture together, weren't we? After we won," I said.

"Glad to hear that you're worried about the important things," she replied with a smile.

"Hey, man. Just trying to find a silver lining here."

"I know," she said. "It's nice that you remember."

Under different circumstances this would have been a little awkward. New Rome was deserted except for a few Lares and unlucky babysitting teenagers who took care of kids too young for all the violence, while the rest of their family had the time of their lives. There were no prying eyes. It was just the two of us, wandering through a tranquil city.

The illusion was broken when we got closer to the Colosseum. We weren't even there yet, and it was already louder than the crowd in the Circus Maximus. I guess it made sense. Gladiators were more iconic than chariot racing for a reason. I still found it hard to believe that all those people were stuffed into a building half the size of the Circus Maximus.

It was made to be a much larger replica of the real Colosseum, without the ruins. It was similar in design to the Circus Maximus but quite a bit taller to accommodate more spectators, and circular instead of oblong. Even the entrances were the same – just with more stairs. We headed inside without anyone stopping us and began to climb up. The noise was reaching concert-level volume, but I could still make out the clash of metal on metal. Hopefully it was just the undercard fight.

Alex and I made our way to one of the middle levels of the Colosseum and couldn't find seats, so we stood instead. It wasn't exactly courtside, but we weren't from the very top either. The interior of the Colosseum looked more like an amphitheatre than a football stadium. Long rows of seats ringed the whole place with breaks in between for stairs. Each tier was separated by metal rails that were crowded with people. Some parts were modernized: the steps were smaller, the seats more comfortable, and the rails more polished, yet it retained the historic look. It was distinctly Roman.

Like the Circus Maximus, there was a VIP box for the praetors on the opposite end of the stadium. Unlike the Circus Maximus, there was only one occupant. Marcus was doing the commentary this time, speaking through a microphone and out of speakers cleverly spread out and hidden. His voice popped up from all over the place.

"Romans, I thank you for your patience!" he called out. "The valiant duel between the victors of the chariot race has concluded with Andrew Johnson of the First Cohort as victor!"

Cheers erupted from all around us. I found myself clapping as best I could. For some reason, I didn't mind the pain. The most important thing in the world right now is whatever Marcus is talking about.

"But I know why we've all gathered here today. I know why we celebrate the Bellator Torneamentum! The final duel! Let us welcome the challenger onto the field of battle!"

The crowd got even louder as one of the many iron portcullises around the arena was raised. A figure emerged from the darkness, arms spread out, head nodding and shouting back to the audience. He was even taller than Felix, strapped with only the most essential pieces of armour, a single gladius on his hip, and an unorthodox buckler on his arm. That was Andrew, I guess. He was the First Cohort's charioteer, the one who cut the ropes off our horses and forced Octavian to hold them himself. It was almost impossible to stop myself from jumping into the ring and fighting him.

He continued to showboat to the crowd's approval. One area shouted for him the loudest; a bunch of well-dressed legionaries who I recognized as the First Cohort. I hated those guys. Apparently, they'd won a bunch of times in the past, and that gave them all sorts of privileges and advantages that they leveraged to stay at the top of the totem pole. The other cohorts would be lucky to even contend with them on even footing.

"Now," Marcus continued as the cheering subsided somewhat, "let us welcome the challenged. The defending champion for the third year in a row, the praetor of Rome, Julius!"

I could barely hear the portcullis being raised on the opposite end of the arena over the sound of the crowd. Even the First Cohort joined in the audience's thunderous applause and stomping.

Jules stepped out of the shadows. His curly black hair was tied back in the kind of bun that you can only pull off with a solid jawline. He had no armour, no shield, and no weapon, yet looked more dangerous than his fully armed opponent. He didn't showboat, either. That just made the crowd more excited.

He must have known what he was doing. After a long while, the spectators calmed down somewhat – then Jules reached into his pocket and tossed something in the air. It glinted in the sunlight before expanding into an Imperial gold gladius larger than mine. The sword flipped several times before he caught it with one hand.

The crowd went nuts. People abandoned their seats and leaned on the rails, desperate to get even a slightly better look at him.

Andrew approached the centre of the arena without another word, his bravado vanished. Jules met him in the middle. I couldn't help but think of what I would do if I were in his shoes. Jules was clearly the superior fighter. I wouldn't be able to take him in a straight fight. He was also bigger, taller, and most likely stronger. A war of attrition was out of the question as well.

The only option was to get him as soon as possible, a riptide that would catch him off guard. I would attack with everything I got right off the bat. If the way Andrew was armoured was any indication, he had the same thing in mind. I found myself rooting for him.

"Let the final match – begin!" Marcus shouted.

I was right. Andrew drew his gladius and slashed at Jules in one smooth motion like a samurai. He continued a tirade of blows against him. As big as Jules was, Andrew was even taller, and the tornado of cuts and slashes he unleashed should overwhelm him. I know it would be too much for me.

Jules barely used his sword. He ducked, dodged, sidestepped, and danced away from Andrew's blade. I was sure that at least one hit would have landed, but Jules turned away just in time, always. It was like watching magnets of the same poles pushing each other away. This didn't dissuade Andrew in the slightest. If anything, it just made him move faster and faster.

"That's amazing," I muttered. "I didn't think he'd fight like that."

"Who, Jules? He hasn't really done much fighting," Alex replied.

"No, the other guy. Andrew. I've never seen that style. It's like he's randomly swinging his sword, but he's shepherding Jules with each strike, in position for every follow-up. And Jules can still dodge out of the way."

"That's the Greek style, I'm pretty sure," Alex said. "It's not really something we teach anymore, unless you're in a super advanced class. People look down on it, but since this is technically a gladiator fight – "

"Anything goes," I finished.

"Right," she nodded. "I'm surprised he didn't bring out a net."

I couldn't tell if she was serious or not. Then the ring of metal on metal sounded once more, and the crowd redoubled their shouting. Jules had made his move.

He'd parried Andrew's strike, leaving him wide open. Jules went for the finishing blow, but Andrew recovered just in time to jump back and parry with his buckler.

I frowned. It was a good move, but… was it just me or did Jules look a little slow? I'd seen the guy fight in the war games. He should have landed that hit. Was he worn out?

"The hell?" Alex mumbled. I nodded absently and spied a few other spectators frowning. But they were vastly outnumbered by the spectators who were screaming for action.

Jules switched it up and started a slow but well-timed assault. He attacked with precise jabs and thrusts, easily deflecting Andrew's counters as he forced him to retreat more and more. I swear, sometimes his sword moved into position a second _before _Andrew's slashes. I realized what he was doing. This match was far from a challenge for him. It was over the second he stepped onto the field.

He was far better. Jules was just giving the audience a good show.

Andrew must have realized it too. I could see the frustration in his increasingly frantic attacks until he made a mistake Jules couldn't play off. With a shout, he lunged at Jules, who simply sidestepped. Jules flicked his wrist and sent Andrew's gladius flying. It settled on the dirt with a puff of dust. The crowd fell silent.

There was a long pause as Andrew thought of his next move and Jules waited to pounce. He leapt for his sword, and Jules took a step forward and slashed in one motion, far faster than anything he'd displayed before. A long, diagonal cut appeared on his opponent, running from hip to shoulder. He collapsed with a spray of blood.

This time, the crowd erupted around me while I remained still. My heart pounded like I was the one fighting and sweat that had nothing to do with the heat started to form on my forehead. This was the guy I was supposed to beat? Even if we'd won the race, I didn't stand a chance against him. I doubt I would've even put up a good fight.

"Percy? You okay?" Alex asked. I snapped back to reality and tried to reassure her with a smile.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah. I'm fine."

She frowned, unconvinced. "You would've done better," she said, but the shaky smile on her face told another story.

I just pursed my lips and looked away.

"What better way to end the Torneamentum!" Marcus shouted into his microphone. Immediately my anxiety calmed, my body somehow revitalized. Had I been nervous just a second ago? I couldn't fathom why.

"What better way to celebrate our strength! A decisive victory for our praetor!"

"Jules!" someone shouted in reply. People continued the chant. "Jules! Jules! Jules!"

"Let us honour our victor and bequeath a crown of laurels on the reigning champion!" Amid the cheering that followed, Marcus lowered the microphone and moved to the back of the VIP box. On his seat was a small chest I hadn't noticed. He picked it up before exiting the miniature balcony and making his way down the steps.

"That was pathetic," Alex said. Some people gave her dirty looks, but I nodded. "And they didn't even mention Andrew."

I forgot about him. Dragging my eyes off Marcus, I saw Andrew being carried away on a stretcher by some medics. He had an arm draped over his face in shame. Nobody didn't seem to notice, and if they did, they didn't care. They were all busy shouting themselves hoarse and throwing flowers into the ring. Jules stood in the very centre of the Colosseum with legs parted and gladius planted on the ground, both hands resting on the pommel.

Eventually, another portcullis opened, and Marcus appeared. He walked like he was on parade and not in a dustbowl arena. If I squinted, I could see that the box he held was made of ornate carved wood. He carried it like a ringbearer and approached Jules, who inclined his head in recognition.

"The laurel crown," Marcus stated. Just like that, the crowd went into an uproar.

Alex nudged me. I gave her a sidelong look.

"What?" I snapped, trying to ignore her. Marcus had started a speech about power, victory, and the spirit of Rome that had me transfixed.

"Our strength is found in each other!" he said.

"What the hell is that?" she said, pointing. I squinted to follow her finger. On Marcus's hip, there was a small length of gold, tucked into a larger piece of leather. Was it some sort of brooch? But why was it on his hip?

The pieces fell into place. The fact that he took over for Terminus's commentary, his long speech that could somehow distract people, the box he handed to Jules to keep both his hands busy…

My eyes widened. Then I sprinted down the stairs.

"Our fellow legionaries are our greatest weapons!"

I needed a distraction. Something that would get Jules's attention, even through Marcus's weird hypnotizing voice. A shout won't work. I needed something tangible. I settled on the only thing that came to mind.

I ran down the steps, two at a time, three. I grasped my golden coin and summoned a spear. I could hear people gasp in reaction, but I didn't stop, didn't slow. I reached the end of the seats and jumped off. It was much higher and steeper than I thought, and I felt myself plummeting. I was going to break something.

Still I did what I had to do. In the split second of hang time, I hurled my spear. For once, I was grateful for my terrible aim.

It cruised through the air and landed just beside Jules. That caught his attention. I barely registered my success before I crashed to the ground. A sharp pain exploded on my ankle. I didn't know if it was sprained or broken, and I knew better than to look.

"But what good is strength without a mind for war?"

I raised my head just in time to see Jules face me in confusion, which quickly turned to shock. He collapsed on the ground, a dagger on his back, amid screaming from the crowd.

"No," I whispered.

"Romans!" Marcus yelled, spreading his arms. "Romans! Hear me!" And again, everyone fell silent, slaves to Marcus's voice.

"Our leadership is weak! Our praetors are weak! Rome is weak! I hear this every day, from the scheming elders in New Rome, and the dissenting ranks of Camp Jupiter! And I cannot help but agree," Marcus continued. I could hear his voice nagging at me, seducing me to stay still and listen, but the pain from my ankle and the stitches I tore on my arm saved me from the effects.

"The rumours you hear are true! The Titan Saturn approaches!"

Whispers broke out in the crowd. Apparently even his voice couldn't suppress the weight of his words.

"The Lord of Time is waking, and with him, all his brother Titans and an army we cannot possibly defeat!"

The new wave of words silenced the crowd. I didn't see where he was going with his speech, but I had to make him shut up. I put my good hand in front of me, reaching for any kind of handhold, and started dragging myself on the dirt.

"But it is not too late. We must move now, before he returns from Tartarus completely!"

I had to do something. But I was too far away, in too much pain. I searched the crowd, hoping to see someone unaffected by his voice. Then I saw something dash through the audience. Alex slithered through the audience each time Marcus looked somewhere else. She had both hands on her ears. If I could distract him…

"Julius wanted to wait. He thought we were too weak! He thought we should wait for an opportunity, wait for the fire to die down as it consumes us!"

"And you killed him for it!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. The illusion was broken once more, but only just. Murmurs began to ripple. I pushed myself to my feet, trying to ignore the pain as best I could and putting my weight on my good leg. I knew I didn't look like much, limping and bleeding, so I had to talk fast. Anything to keep his eyes off Alex.

"What are we to do with a tumour? Let is fester? No! We excise it, rip it out of our bodies!" Marcus cried out.

"You're an idiot!" I screeched. "A dumbass!" I was running out of things to say. Where was Octavian when you need him?

"We must march to Mount Othrys and strike down Saturn's throne!" Marcus called out, ignoring me. I continued yelling insults, but I was just embarrassing myself.

"Destroy his seat of power before he arises!"

I couldn't see Alex. Where was she, damn it? I needed more time.

"You killed our best fighter!" I shouted. "Our best general! How are we supposed to win?"

That got his attention. Marcus paused and turned to look at me in the eye. I was less than fifty feet away and getting closer. I could see Jules sprawled on the ground but couldn't see if he was breathing. I was staring down Marcus.

"No," he spoke, his voice echoing. "We don't have our best warrior."

Marcus picked up the box that had fallen to the ground, opened it, and pulled something out.

"What we need…" he let go of the box, and I saw what he was holding in his hands. A crown of laurels.

"…is a king."

Marcus placed the crown over his own head. It fit perfectly.

The crowd broke their silence with raucous cheering. My blood ran cold when I realized that they did it without any prompting from Marcus. He had won them over.

"My brothers! We march for war!" he cried out, raising his fist. Hundreds of spectators did the same.

I was close enough to reach out and grab him. But one heavily injured kid wasn't going to stop him. He'd just throw me off. What do I do? What do I do?

Marcus took an involuntary step towards me, like he'd been pushed from behind. There was a brief expression of shock on his face that was quickly replaced by fury. He reached for something on his back, and with a gasp of pain, pulled out a dagger.

All eyes in the Colosseum turned to Alex. I had never been happier to see someone. She must have gone to the armoury before showing up, because she was already clutching two more knives and had a brace of daggers slung over her shoulder. My heart leapt and fell just as fast.

I could feel the anger pouring out of Marcus, wrath pouring out of him like a noxious cloud. He moved the crowd without speaking. Already, people were dashing inside the Colosseum to enter the arena. Some jumped over the edge without any sense of self-preservation.

I had to do something.

The instant Marcus turned to face Alex, I jumped on him. I managed to get my good arm across his neck and my left arm around his torso and dangled there, hoping to pull him down with sheer weight. But he was stronger, faster, and tougher than I credited him for. He punched the open wound on my arm, making me lose my grip. Before I could even fall, he twisted it, darted behind me, and held the dagger to my throat.

In the time it took for me to register the pain, he had me as a human shield. Everyone froze. The Colosseum was silent. All I could hear was Marcus's calm, steady breathing.

"Drop it," Marcus said. I didn't know if it was his heart that was hammering, or mine.

"Drop it!" he screamed.

Alex's eyes met mine. I shut my eyes, barely holding back the tears, the pain, the fear that I felt. I was going to die. The thought made me want to throw up. I thought dying would be more heroic. This is how I'm going out? No. No way. Not without a fight.

I found resolve in myself. My eyes opened, and I gave a slight nod. Alex set her jaw and nodded in reply.

"Don't be stupid," Marcus warned, driving the dagger deeper into my neck. I could feel the tip pierce my skin. "He's going to die! Both of you are going to die!"

Alex stayed quiet and held her position. What's she waiting for?

"Do it!" I screamed, unable to keep the hysteria from my voice. "Do it now!"

I felt something warm and wet near my heart. I opened my mouth in horror, but the voice I heard was Marcus. He let go of the dagger and released me. I stumbled to my knees, gasping for breath, and felt two small, strong hands on me. Alex.

Marcus stood, his mouth agape, his hands clawing at the Imperial gold blade impaled through his chest. I saw Jules on the ground, holding the spear. Marcus collapsed without another word.


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, dad. Hope you're doing alright. The past couple of weeks haven't been the greatest for me. I love New Rome, and Camp Jupiter, and my friends, but it's been pretty hectic. I'm sure you understand."

"So, um, I lost the Bellator Torneamentum. I had to make a choice, and… and I made it. Not sure if it's the right one, but I'm still here, and so are all my friends, so it can't be that bad, right? Anyway, things have gotten even more complicated since I got here. Jules has been doing praetor duty alone for almost a year now. He keeps everything running smoothly somehow – I'm still doing the drills, the practices, and I'm even back in school. But everyone knows it's too much for one guy to handle, and with the Titans and everything, things are so tense."

"At least Octavian's started talking to me. It took months, and I don't think he's really forgiven me for saving him, but it's something. We're still friends. I just wish I could say I deserve our friendship. I wish you were here."

I was standing before an altar in my dad's temple. I think I should kneel, but that's never been my thing. Maybe that's why the gods hate me.

I turned the words I'd said over and over in my mind, wondering if I should've phrased it differently. Maybe he'd actually answer my prayers if I were a bit more respectful. I sort of doubted it. Maybe if I gave him some offerings? The bowl in the altar was supposed to be filled with sacrifices that we give, but I'd filled it with water instead. That seemed more appropriate.

Then the water rippled. It never did that.

My gladius was in my hand in less than a second. I fell into a stance and scanned the room, searching for an intruder. My eyes passed over a patch of shadow, and just as I was about to look elsewhere, there he was.

He was an older guy who looked like the world's most fashionable fisherman. His eyes shone an unsettling shade of green and blue over his chiselled but gentle face, set above a bearded chin and below jet-black hair tucked underneath a cap. The plain white tee he was wearing hugged his fit physique, and even under his thin black parka I could see that he had arms like tree trunks. Fashionable shorts and boots completed the look that made him seem like a retired model.

I realized that he looked like a little like me if I were older. And better looking.

"Hello, son," he said, the words washing over me like a riptide. "It's been a while."

"Thirteen years," I managed to choke. If my tone evoked any emotion, he didn't show it.

"Not quite that bad, I'm afraid. I was there for the earliest years of your childhood. I stayed for as long as I could. And now I can finally meet you again. In the flesh." He stepped towards me. I didn't lower my sword.

"How do I know it's really you?" I challenged.

"Your mother's name is Sally. She runs a candy store where she'd smuggle blue food for you whenever she could. She is the kindest person I have ever met, and she loves you very, very much."

I relaxed my arm but didn't put away the gladius. A hurricane of emotions stormed inside me, making me feel nauseous. I had expected rage and defiance to blind me when I finally met my old man. Sometimes I even dreamed of using my sword. So why did I feel like I was about to cry?

"You left us."

"I did," Neptune said, stating a fact. "I do not regret it. You would have died if I challenged Jupiter. I only regret not coming to you sooner."

Despite staring at the ground, I could still see him stepping towards me. Two callused hands held my shoulders, and I met his eyes. He was smiling.

"I love what you did to the place," he commented when I didn't speak up. "The Romans never did like me."

"Yeah," I said quietly. "I know.

Slowly but surely, over the course of a year, I had repaired the temple of Neptune. When I first arrived, it was little more than a repurposed garden shed with a couple mouldy apple cores in the altar bowl. Now it was a proper temple. I had replaced the altar and its bowl, fixed all the leaks, cleaned the whole place, and painted it all blue. Vanessa had offered to help, but I declined. It was my responsibility.

It was beautiful under all the dirt and grime. The altar was placed in the very centre of the building, with half a dozen pillars surrounding it, and braziers affixed to them. Murals covered nearly every surface. They depicted the creation of the earth, the birth of horses, the taming of the sea, and other triumphs Neptune had accomplished that the world had forgotten. And now the man himself was here.

"I hated you," I said. "I thought you were a coward. We all hate you guys."

"I know," he intoned evenly. "It's difficult to love someone who is absent from your lives. Some of the gods even think that it's your fault. But always remember, Percy. I'm always here for you. Especially when it seems like I'm not."

"I don't believe you," I whispered.

"Yet here we are," he said. Just like that. The way he spoke was infuriating – like he knew everything, like he was the centre of everything, like I hadn't suffered from bullies and Gabe and solitude. I didn't believe him, and I didn't know if I trusted him. But he was here now, right? I took a step back, out of his embrace, and dismissed my gladius.

"Why didn't you help me win?" I demanded. He sighed before replying.

"I knew that would come up. Percy, for all our power, the one thing that the gods can't tamper with is destiny. That's up to the Fates. But we can guide you, direct you to the right path. I think you know what I'm talking about."

I did. I had been replaying everything from my arrival to Camp Jupiter up till the tournament in my head for months, wondering if I did everything right, if I could have done anything differently. There was a single moment that I couldn't explain.

"The crack in the wall."

"Awfully convenient, don't you think, that the walls of the principia broke upon your arrival? That you could know of Saturn's rising?" His eyes sparkled with mischief, the corners crinkling.

"That was you?" I asked.

"Of course. Jupiter would chew me out if he knew, but he doesn't, and I intend to keep it that way. I'm always here for you, Percy."

"Then why are you here now?" I demanded.

Maybe it was the tone of my voice. Maybe it was my words. Maybe I struck a nerve. I had a hard time reconciling what happened just then.

He changed. His chiselled expression turned stony, the thin wrinkles on his face turning into cracks. His eyes looked more like the abyss than the sea. His appearance didn't change – he still looked like someone's cool uncle. He was just different. A different part of Neptune.

"Jupiter has finally approved my request to visit you. I've never stopped asking for thirteen years, but the situation has finally worsened enough that even he recognizes the need for me to warn our children. Saturn is coming, Percy, and he will unleash every monster and Titan swallowed by Tartarus with him."

"I know that," I said, my throat dry.

"There is more. I suspect that your praetor knows already, which saves me the trouble of explaining it all to you."

"Wait, what? Explain – "

A thunderbolt exploded somewhere in the sky above us. I looked up sharply, fearing for a second that the ceiling would crash down.

My dad grunted. Was it the lightning, or did the ground just shake? A second, louder thunderclap sounded, and my dad just sighed.

"That's my cue. I can't believe five minutes are gone so soon."

"Dad – what? You're leaving? You barely said anything!"

"When Jupiter gives an order, it is obeyed," he said sadly. "But I'm sure a few seconds won't hurt. Listen, Percy. Change is coming to the world, and it starts with Camp Jupiter. Remember this: there must always be a praetor in Rome."

"That doesn't make sense!"

"It will." Then he reached forward and pulled me in to a hug. I was too stunned to respond.

"You've become a fine young man, Percy. I wish your mother was here with us."

"I – "

Thunder filled the air again. This time, it was a low rumbling, building up into a crescendo. I didn't want to know what would happen if it peaked.

"Alright, brother, I'm going," he grumbled. He released his hold and stepped towards the altar.

"Wait!" I yelled. "Neptune – dad!"

He froze. My father turned towards me.

"I…"

What was I supposed to say? How do I condense a lifetime of emotion into a single sentence?

"You better come back," I demanded. "You better come home."

He blinked. Then he burst out laughing, a hearty belly laugh.

"Percy. I never left." He winked, and in the time it took me to blink, all that remained of him was a breeze that smelled of the sea.

I couldn't believe it. Neptune was a deadbeat dad.

I put my hands in my pockets and left his temple. Outside, the afternoon sky was clouded with sombre grey clouds. Jupiter's work, I was pretty sure. But the gloom didn't do much to cover the beauty of New Rome. Even at this time of day, it was stunning.

Then the skies cleared, and I realized that it wasn't getting dark just because of the clouds. It was well into the evening. I cursed profusely and sprinted towards Camp Jupiter. I had sentry duty today and had to guard the entrance to camp. I didn't know how long I had spent in that temple, but I knew it was too long.

I brushed past the citizens of New Rome, all of them either younger or older than me. Anyone of my age would be in Camp Jupiter. I ran on the via praetoria in record time, bumping into plenty of people along the way. Fellow legionaries delivering messages, going on a run, or just talking a walk with friends. I didn't have the luxury of apologizing, so I charged past them, crossed the Little Tiber and only stopped to catch my breath at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Nearly late. I swear, somehow you always manage to arrive on time," a voice sounded beside me.

"I'm a hero. That's what we do," I gasped. Octavian was leaning on the wall, consulting the watch on his wrist. He was lightly armoured with only a breastplate for protection and armed with a pilum in hand and a sheathed gladius. Jules had wanted to increase security but had been too busy to enforce the changes. Besides, if anything made it here that we couldn't deal with at the entrance, an extra piece of armour wouldn't help much.

"Sure you are. Now come on. We're gonna be here until the night shift comes, those poor bastards. In the meantime, we got a few hours to kill. Please tell me we can talk about something other than sword fighting."

I chuckled. I opened my mouth to blurt out my encounter with Neptune but changed my mind before I let the words out. I trusted Octavian with my life. He was the first friend I had ever made and had been there for me since I got to camp. Still, I had to be careful with what I said. Especially since he'd been acting strange recently. Like, stranger than usual.

"Of course! Did you watch those basketball games I told you about? The ones with – "

"Oh gods," he said, rolling his eyes. "I think I'd rather talk about swords fighting."

I kept babbling as we stepped outside of the other end of the tunnel. There was a lot on my mind, but I let my brain go on autopilot and talked about literally anything else. Sometimes I was grateful for being hyperactive.

I wouldn't have stopped even after the next shift came. Then I heard someone cough once, politely. I had my gladius out in an instant and whipped around to face the source of the noise.

"Percy," Octavian warned, holding out his hand. "Wait a second."

It was a girl. She was about the same age as me, wearing a tank top and ratty jeans. Her long dark hair and tanned complexion made me peg her as Hispanic. She arched an eyebrow at my gladius, unimpressed. That was weird.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"My name is Reyna," she said. "I'm looking for Camp Jupiter."

* * *

**_Author's note:_**

**_And that's the end of the Son of Rome, folks! The second 'book' of the Roman PJO series, the King's Command, is already up! Check it out!_**

**_Please review and let me know what you thought of this story. Comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated._**

**_Thank you to everyone who already reviewed my work, and thank you to the reader for going this far. Get ready for more._**


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